Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Has $3.16 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its Applied Materials stake by 218.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 8,426 additional shares and lifting its holdings to 12,288 shares worth about $3.16 million.
• Applied Materials reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.86 versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $7.91 billion versus $7.68 billion expected, while also guiding Q3 2026 EPS to $3.16–$3.56.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, and analysts remain generally bullish, with multiple firms raising price targets and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 218.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,288 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,426 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $635,057,000 after acquiring an additional 145,050 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,801,000 after purchasing an additional 17,288 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,531,000. Avity Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $45,700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the period. Finally, Baker Chad R grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 76.6% in the 4th quarter. Baker Chad R now owns 16,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $4,297,000 after purchasing an additional 7,170 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.53 per share, reinforcing its capital-return strategy and signaling confidence in cash generation. Applied Materials Announces Cash Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment remains upbeat on AI-related chip equipment demand, with recent commentary highlighting Applied Materials as a beneficiary of rising logic, DRAM, and advanced packaging spending. Applied Materials jumps 6.8% as AI-driven equipment demand and analyst optimism lift shares
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive, with multiple firms maintaining buy or outperform ratings and several price targets sitting above the current trading range, which can help underpin the stock. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Eyes Growing Southeast Asia Workforce by 25%
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports of sharply higher short-interest activity appear data-distorted, but they still reflect ongoing attention from traders betting on semiconductor volatility.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader semiconductor sentiment is mixed: some commentary says the sector may be entering a correction after a strong run, while other notes call recent pullbacks healthy. Semiconductor Index Outlook: Upside Target Reached, Correction Underway
• Negative Sentiment: There is also some caution from insider-sale headlines and valuation-focused articles after AMAT’s strong multi-month run, which could limit upside if investors rotate out of high-multiple semiconductor names.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.4%

AMAT stock opened at $499.21 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $415.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $346.85. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $525.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $396.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $470.13.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, 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 directly owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total value of $1,247,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 136,113 shares in the company, valued at $67,901,331.18. The trade was a 1.80% 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 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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