Holderness Investments Co. Trims Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Holderness Investments Co. cut its Applied Materials stake by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,452 shares and leaving it with 60,977 shares worth about $15.67 million. Applied Materials remains Holderness’s fifth-largest holding.
• Applied Materials reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.86 beating estimates and revenue of $7.91 billion topping forecasts. The company also issued Q3 2026 guidance above expectations and recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish, with multiple firms raising price targets and Cantor Fitzgerald reiterating an Overweight rating while lifting its target to $575. The article also notes upbeat commentary around AI-driven semiconductor demand and new equipment partnerships.

Holderness Investments Co. lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,452 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up approximately 3.2% of Holderness Investments Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Holderness Investments Co.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $15,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after acquiring an additional 330,197 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Applied Materials by 225.4% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,858,543,000. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,247,838,000 after buying an additional 3,280,730 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its Overweight rating on Applied Materials and raised its price target to $575, reinforcing bullish analyst sentiment and pointing to more upside potential. Applied Materials NASDAQ: AMAT Receives Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights AMAT’s blowout quarterly results, higher outlook, and new AI chip equipment partnerships with companies like Broadcom and SCREEN, all of which support expectations for continued demand in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Assessing Applied Materials (AMAT) Valuation After Earnings Beat And New AI Chip Equipment Partnerships
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Gary Dickerson said the semiconductor industry is in its strongest period ever, with AI driving unprecedented computing demand, which adds to the long-term growth narrative for Applied Materials. This is the greatest time ever for semiconductors, says CEO of key equipment supplier
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT continues to attract bullish commentary from analysts and market commentators as a leading AI semiconductor equipment play, helping sustain momentum in the shares. KLA vs. Applied Materials: Which Chip Equipment Stock Wins Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also presented at Bernstein’s Strategic Decisions Conference, which kept investors focused on management’s outlook but did not add a major new catalyst. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Presents at Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling by Director Judy Bruner may create a modest headwind, though the sale was small relative to her remaining stake and does not appear to change the broader bullish thesis. Applied Materials director Judy Bruner stock sale

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $450.06 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $357.33 billion, a PE ratio of 42.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.47 and a fifty-two week high of $462.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $397.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $333.49.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,944,800. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. HSBC started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $517.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $470.13.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials' offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.

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