Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Purchased by PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 93,113 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,081 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 1.1% of PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators’ portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $47,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $57,993,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,685 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 85.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 69,525,842 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 7,808,207 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,645,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,246,876 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 16.2% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,713,599 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,576,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,879 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $5,252,863,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $380.95 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $439.22 and its 200-day moving average is $445.83. The stock has a market cap of $302.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $203.40 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $4.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company had revenue of $10.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 4.150-4.550 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Latest Applied Materials News

Investors following AMAT have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Fiscal Q4 revenue rose 53% year over year to a record $10.41 billion, beating the $10.30 billion estimate. Non-GAAP EPS of $4.16 also topped the $4.06 consensus and increased 92% from a year earlier. Applied Materials Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Q1 fiscal 2027 guidance came in ahead of expectations: revenue of $10.6 billion–$11.6 billion versus the $10.7 billion consensus, and EPS of $4.15–$4.55 compared with an expected $4.20. The outlook reflects management’s confidence that AI-chip demand will continue to drive equipment spending. Applied Materials forecasts quarterly revenue above estimates on strong AI chip demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the earnings and guidance beats, reports described a mixed or lukewarm share-price response. That suggests investors may be weighing the strong company-specific results against broader weakness in chip stocks and Nvidia-related concerns. Applied Materials’ Beat Gets a Lukewarm Reception as Nvidia Fallout Lingers

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Craig Hallum raised their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $563.00 to $538.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, B. Riley Financial lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $700.00 to $475.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $625.76.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc. develops and supplies equipment, software and services used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its technologies help customers build and process materials at the microscopic scale required for chips and other electronic products. The company’s offerings include systems for depositing, removing and modifying materials, as well as inspection, measurement and process-control tools. It also provides equipment and services for advanced semiconductor packaging and supports customers with maintenance, upgrades and manufacturing software.