Alta Park Capital LP Reduces Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Alta Park Capital LP cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 123,326 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 12,961 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 3.8% of Alta Park Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Alta Park Capital LP’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $31,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after purchasing an additional 330,197 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after purchasing an additional 373,012 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $489.16.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.3%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $592.92 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $470.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.67, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $623.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $441.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $360.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 189,767 shares of company stock valued at $107,769,409. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target on Applied Materials, boosting confidence that AI infrastructure spending and demand for memory-chip manufacturing tools will keep growth strong. Applied Materials surges as Citi lifts target on AI demand boom
• Positive Sentiment: The company unveiled SENZ, an integrated AI/AR smart-glasses visual platform, expanding its story beyond semiconductor equipment into next-generation optics and wearable tech. EssilorLuxottica and Applied Materials Join Forces to Advance Augmented Reality Optics Platforms for Next-Generation Smart Glasses
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials and EssilorLuxottica announced a long-term partnership to develop AR and AI smart-eyewear optics, suggesting an additional growth avenue and validating AMAT’s materials expertise. EssilorLuxottica, Applied Materials strike deal to develop smart glasses, AR technology
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted record highs and strong momentum for chip-equipment stocks, with AMAT benefiting from the broader AI-driven rally in semiconductor capital equipment. Applied Materials Stock Is One Of the S&P 500 Leaders Today. It’s AI.

About Applied Materials

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.