Swiss National Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,327,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 144,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.29% of Applied Materials worth $795,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after purchasing an additional 330,197 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Applied Materials by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after buying an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $2,858,543,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,746,769,000 after buying an additional 1,558,749 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the company’s growth outlook and AI-driven demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO comments reinforcing the AI investment thesis may help support longer-term sentiment around the stock. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that AMAT has been drawing increased attention from investors, but the piece was mainly a stock-screening update rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary suggested Applied Materials may be trading above fair value after a strong multi-year run, which could limit upside even if earnings remain solid. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: A broad semiconductor selloff is pressuring AMAT along with peers like AMD and Intel, as the market rotates out of chip stocks and into other areas. Article link

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $529.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $420.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $533.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $413.05. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $593.84.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.