Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd Lowers Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 229,124 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 37,004 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $78,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $181,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. One Day In July LLC grew 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 worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $564.55 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $448.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.01, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $537.43 and a 200 day moving average of $418.14.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. 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 is currently 19.91%.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Peer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing announced plans to raise chipmaking prices by up to 10% in 2027, while wafer supplier IQE lifted guidance, reinforcing expectations for strong AI and data-center chip demand and more equipment spending across the semiconductor supply chain. Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ installed base services business appears to be a growing recurring-revenue engine, with Applied Global Services revenue rising to $1.665 billion from $1.42 billion a year earlier as fab utilization improves. Is AMAT’s Installed Base Business Built for Long-Term Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary continues to point to AI-driven semiconductor growth as a tailwind for AMAT, with analysts highlighting the company as a beneficiary of sustained demand for advanced chips and manufacturing equipment. 3 Stocks to Buy From the Prospering Semiconductor Industry
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials also joined CuspAI’s AI Materials Foundry as a founding member, a strategic move that could support long-term materials discovery efforts, though it is not an immediate earnings catalyst. Applied Materials (AMAT) Joins CuspAI Foundry To Speed Semiconductor Materials Discovery
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary flagged seasonal weakness for AMAT heading into late July, which could temper momentum if investors focus on near-term trading patterns. Three Stocks Just Flashed Seasonal Signals

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $570.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 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.