MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH Takes $12.40 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 17,151 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,400,000. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.1% of MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $41,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 34.8% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 284,192 shares of company stock worth $172,625,209. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $461.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $366.38 billion, a PE ratio of 39.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $550.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $456.77. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The company’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $657.76.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor and AI demand remains strong: Recent coverage highlights Applied Materials’ $9.12 billion third-quarter revenue, up 25% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.50, up 41%. Management cited record demand visibility from AI infrastructure, more than 10 new fab projects during the quarter and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $10.25 billion. The company is also continuing share repurchases and investing $5 billion in its EPIC Center to accelerate semiconductor innovation. The AI Buildout Is Turning Applied Materials Into A Profit Machine
• Positive Sentiment: New board member adds semiconductor expertise: AMAT appointed Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm’s CFO and COO, to its board and Audit Committee. His finance, operations and industry experience could strengthen oversight as Applied Materials pursues growth tied to advanced logic, memory and AI chip production. Applied Materials Appoints Akash Palkhiwala to Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market signals elevated uncertainty: A new analysis says options pricing for roughly one year ahead implies a particularly wide potential trading range, extending materially below and above the current level. That suggests investors should expect significant volatility rather than providing a clear directional signal. How Far Applied Materials Stock Can Move In A Year
• Negative Sentiment: CFO share sale may weigh modestly on sentiment: CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 AMAT shares for approximately $3.6 million, reducing his direct holdings by 5.51%. The sale does not alter the company’s operating outlook, but insider selling can create a limited short-term sentiment overhang. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

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.