Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,060 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,877 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Victory Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 56.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 741 shares during the period. Latitude Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 9.0% during the third quarter. Latitude Advisors LLC now owns 472 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 38.3% during the third quarter. Investment Advisory Services Inc. TX ADV now owns 1,478 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Livet Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 147.3% in the third quarter. Livet Wealth LLC now owns 695 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted its position in Applied Materials by 7.7% during the third quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 3,314 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,695,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Memory shortage supports equipment demand. SK Hynix’s forecast that a memory shortage could persist through 2030 suggests years of additional fab construction and equipment purchases. Applied Materials rose alongside Lam Research and KLA as investors anticipated increased orders from memory manufacturers. Chip Equipment Stocks Rally as SK Hynix Signals Memory Shortage Into 2030
• Positive Sentiment: Expanded BE Semiconductor stake strengthens the AI-packaging strategy. Applied Materials plans to increase its ownership of Dutch equipment maker BE Semiconductor Industries to approximately 20% from 9%, deepening cooperation in hybrid bonding and advanced interconnect technologies used in AI and high-performance-computing chips. Shares in BE Semiconductor jump after Applied Materials raises stake to 20%
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and industry forecasts remain constructive. Bernstein issued a Buy rating, while analysts expect strong double-digit earnings growth ahead of the company’s fourth-quarter report. A new industry report also projects substantial expansion in epitaxial wafer and chip technology, where Applied Materials is a major participant. Applied Materials receives a Buy from Bernstein
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate-governance attention is unlikely to materially affect near-term fundamentals. Applied Materials joined other large companies objecting to tokenized versions of their shares offered through OKX and Intercontinental Exchange under an SEC innovation framework.
• Negative Sentiment: Risks remain from China exposure, supply bottlenecks and valuation. Analysts caution that export restrictions and dependence on constrained semiconductor supply chains could limit the rally. AMAT’s recent decline and valuation near 36 times earnings also leave the stock sensitive to any slowdown in AI or memory spending.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 14th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This trade represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Up 5.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $416.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $461.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $442.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $330.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.86, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.60. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.40 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.