Rathbones Group PLC Has $26.75 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Rathbones Group PLC lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 104,101 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 29,087 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $26,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $55,180,000 after buying an additional 17,397 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $635,057,000 after buying an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,512,000 after buying an additional 12,132 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,801,000 after buying an additional 17,288 shares during the period. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. 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: Applied Materials announced Broadcom as an EPIC innovation partner, deepening its role in advanced packaging R&D for AI chips and systems. Applied Materials Announces Broadcom as EPIC Innovation Partner
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted AMAT’s strong Q1 results, including revenue and earnings beats plus upbeat guidance, reinforcing the view that AI spending is lifting semiconductor equipment demand. AMAT Q1 Deep Dive: AI Demand Drives Growth in Semiconductor Equipment and Services
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials was named to a Zacks Rank #1 momentum list, suggesting analysts see continued near-term strength in the stock’s trend. Best Momentum Stocks to Buy for May 20th
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles compared AMAT favorably with peers like Lam Research, but these were mostly valuation and strategy discussions rather than new company-specific developments. Lam Research vs. Applied Materials: Which AI Chip Stock Has the Edge?
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT was mentioned among semiconductor names that fell during a broader sector sell-off tied to Samsung labor-strike concerns and TSMC-related supply-chain worries, which could create short-term pressure. MACOM, Applied Materials, and Photronics Shares Are Falling, What You Need To Know

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $427.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.47 and a twelve month high of $448.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $385.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $325.31. The firm has a market cap of $339.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.13, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 17.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $465.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,003 shares of company stock worth $2,678,139. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials 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.