Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 393,229 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 128,451 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $201,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% during the second 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 last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in 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 valued at $50,267,184,000 after purchasing an additional 32,018,892 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 19.0% in 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 last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 16.2% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $5,252,863,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Deutsche Bank restated a “buy” rating and issued a $605.00 price target (down from $680.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $625.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

Here are a few of the latest headlines about AMAT:

• 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

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $380.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $439.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $445.83. The stock has a market cap of $302.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.84, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $203.40 and a 52 week high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.06 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The firm had revenue of $10.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 4.150-4.550 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Applied Materials Profile

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.