Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Acquires Shares of 142,453 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 142,453 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $48,689,000. Applied Materials comprises about 0.7% of Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after acquiring an additional 157,426 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials continues to benefit from AI-driven semiconductor spending, and management recently reinforced the view that this investment cycle could stay elevated for years, supporting a multiyear growth outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still see meaningful EPS growth ahead, with recent commentary highlighting strong demand trends and a higher price target from Mizuho, which can help sustain investor confidence in AMAT. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around AMAT’s valuation is becoming more cautious, with one report saying the stock appears to be trading above fair value even though earnings look roughly reasonable, suggesting limited upside from current levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the strong recent rally, some commentary frames Applied Materials as a long-term AI infrastructure winner, but also notes that new buyers are paying up after a very large five-year advance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns are the main drag on sentiment today: investors may be questioning whether Applied Materials’ strong AI demand story is already fully priced into the shares after the recent surge. Article Title

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $560.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $445.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $531.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $412.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.