Janus Henderson Group PLC Raises Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Janus Henderson increased its Applied Materials stake by 67.3% in the first quarter, adding 558,489 shares to own 1.39 million shares valued at approximately $474.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.56% of the company.
• Applied Materials insiders sold 278,088 shares worth about $169.7 million over the past 90 days, including CEO Gary Dickerson’s sale of 71,727 shares and Director Thomas Iannotti’s sale of 9,250 shares.
• The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.86 in EPS and $7.91 billion in revenue, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $599.19.

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 67.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,388,708 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 558,489 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.17% of Applied Materials worth $474,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 531 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. One Day In July LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.4% in the first quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 2.1% in the first quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $436.45 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $547.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $428.02. The firm has a market cap of $346.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.98, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 19.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $525.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $599.19.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials has benefited from AI-driven increases in wafer-fabrication spending, supporting demand for its semiconductor manufacturing equipment. A recent fund review cited the company as a beneficiary of rising AI-related capital expenditures. Applied Materials Rose on AI-Driven Wafer Fabrication Spending
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention around AMAT has increased, according to Zacks, but the article provides no new company-specific earnings, guidance or fundamental catalyst. The heightened search interest may reflect volatility and investor efforts to assess the stock’s outlook. Investors Heavily Search Applied Materials
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT is being pulled down with the broader semiconductor group as investors question the sustainability and financing of AI infrastructure spending. Rising competition from China is adding to pressure on chip-equipment shares. Semiconductor Stocks Trade Down
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that China is mass-producing domestic immersion DUV lithography equipment raise a longer-term competitive risk for Applied Materials. Local alternatives could reduce Western suppliers’ access to Chinese fabs, while export controls further complicate the company’s ability to convert AI demand into orders. China’s Domestic Immersion DUV Push
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market selling intensified amid a sharp oil-price increase tied to renewed U.S.-Iran tensions and uncertainty ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision. Falling major indexes reduced risk appetite for high-beta technology and semiconductor stocks such as AMAT. Oil Spikes as Nasdaq 100 Sinks

About Applied Materials

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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