Markel Group Inc. Purchases 2,250 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Markel Group Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,869,170,000 after buying an additional 7,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $86,610,000 after buying an additional 3,357,167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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 rallied after CEO Gary Dickerson said chipmakers have “tremendous visibility” into demand, implying the AI investment cycle could support equipment orders for years rather than quarters. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Jumps after CEO Says AI Chip Demand Has Years to Run
• Positive Sentiment: Meta Platforms’ reported plan to begin manufacturing an in-house AI chip helped spark a broader rally in semiconductor equipment stocks, including Applied Materials, on expectations that AI infrastructure spending will remain strong. Applied Materials stock jumps as Meta AI chip plan lifts semiconductor names
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel and Needham both raised their price targets on AMAT and kept buy ratings, reinforcing the view that improving fundamentals and AI-driven demand could support further upside. Applied Materials PT Raised to $650 at Stifel
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was removed from several Russell value-oriented indices in late June, a classification change that reflects the stock’s shift toward being viewed more as an AI/semiconductor growth name than a value stock. How Investors Are Reacting To Applied Materials (AMAT) Being Dropped From Key Russell Value Indices
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no reported short interest as of July 10, offering little evidence of bearish positioning from the latest filing.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $517.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $589.48.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded up $13.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $602.50. The stock had a trading volume of 6,270,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,077,411. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $517.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $402.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The firm has a market cap of $478.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. The company's quarterly 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total transaction of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,176,236,570.46. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials 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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