Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 1,841 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 539,866 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,841 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Applied Materials worth $138,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,099,085 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $796,435,000 after buying an additional 415,450 shares during the last quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $537,000. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 75.7% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 115,469 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $29,674,000 after acquiring an additional 49,737 shares in the last quarter. Peak Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $6,492,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $971,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Susquehanna raised their price objective 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $483.03.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating on Applied Materials, saying investment in new chip supply remains strong and supporting the stock’s bullish momentum. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its earnings estimates for Applied Materials, lifting FY2026 EPS forecast to $12.20 and FY2027 to $16.29, while keeping a Buy rating. Applied Materials estimate revision
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted Applied Materials as a top momentum and AI-beneficiary stock, with commentary pointing to strong May performance, heavy hedge fund ownership, and broad analyst support. Is Applied Materials (AMAT) A Good Stock to Buy Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Investor attention is also being fueled by a recent 52-week-high move and reports of continued rotation into chip equipment stocks, reinforcing the view that AMAT remains a favored AI infrastructure name. Why Did AMAT, AMPG, OSCR Stocks Surge To 52-Week Highs Today?
• Neutral Sentiment: Other coverage today was largely repeated “great momentum stock” and “attracting investor attention” pieces, reflecting strong market interest rather than a new company-specific catalyst. Applied Materials (AMAT) is a Great Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.6%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $567.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $450.37 billion, a PE ratio of 53.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.67. The business's 50-day moving average price is $427.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $352.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $569.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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%.The firm's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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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