Commerce Bank Has $46.52 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Commerce Bank raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,337 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $46,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $683.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, July 27th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. One research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $657.76.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs reportedly named Applied Materials a “top pick,” citing the company’s exposure to the continued buildout of AI infrastructure and chip-manufacturing capacity. Applied Materials Stock Is Named a Top Pick at Goldman Sachs
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see significant upside after the stock’s decline from its high, with AI-driven semiconductor investment and record quarterly revenue supporting bullish price targets. One report cited an average target near $641, implying roughly 32% potential appreciation from recent levels. Wall Street Sees Rally Despite Decline From Peak
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is viewed as a key beneficiary of AI infrastructure spending because its equipment and engineering solutions are essential to advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Why Investors Should Buy the Dip in AMAT
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho lowered its Applied Materials price target from $650 to $590 but retained an “outperform” rating. The reduced target reflects more cautious expectations, while the rating still indicates confidence in the company’s longer-term prospects. Benzinga
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported August short-interest figures show zero shares and a mathematically invalid change, making the data unreliable and unlikely to provide a meaningful trading signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks broadly declined as investors reduced risk ahead of NVIDIA’s results, weighing on Applied Materials alongside other chipmakers. Semiconductor Stocks Slide Ahead of NVIDIA Earnings

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 276,692 shares of company stock valued at $169,030,834 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $480.04 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $380.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.38, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $558.87 and a 200 day moving average of $454.37. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.28%.

Applied Materials Company 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.