Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd Takes Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 20,960 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $15,154,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% during the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 284,192 shares of company stock valued at $172,625,209 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price target (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $657.76.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.3%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $461.67 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The stock has a market cap of $366.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $550.80 and a 200 day moving average of $456.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors 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 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.28%.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor and AI demand remains strong: Recent coverage highlights Applied Materials’ $9.12 billion third-quarter revenue, up 25% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.50, up 41%. Management cited record demand visibility from AI infrastructure, more than 10 new fab projects during the quarter and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $10.25 billion. The company is also continuing share repurchases and investing $5 billion in its EPIC Center to accelerate semiconductor innovation. The AI Buildout Is Turning Applied Materials Into A Profit Machine
• Positive Sentiment: New board member adds semiconductor expertise: AMAT appointed Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm’s CFO and COO, to its board and Audit Committee. His finance, operations and industry experience could strengthen oversight as Applied Materials pursues growth tied to advanced logic, memory and AI chip production. Applied Materials Appoints Akash Palkhiwala to Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market signals elevated uncertainty: A new analysis says options pricing for roughly one year ahead implies a particularly wide potential trading range, extending materially below and above the current level. That suggests investors should expect significant volatility rather than providing a clear directional signal. How Far Applied Materials Stock Can Move In A Year
• Negative Sentiment: CFO share sale may weigh modestly on sentiment: CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 AMAT shares for approximately $3.6 million, reducing his direct holdings by 5.51%. The sale does not alter the company’s operating outlook, but insider selling can create a limited short-term sentiment overhang. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

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.