F&V Capital Management LLC Sells 25,526 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

F&V Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 37.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,185 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 25,526 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 5.6% of F&V Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. F&V Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $30,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,252,863,000. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $86,610,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357,167 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $461.67 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $550.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $457.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The company has a market cap of $366.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $657.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 284,192 shares of company stock valued at $172,625,209 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.