Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stake Lessened by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 122,470 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 9,300 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $41,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $602.50 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $517.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $403.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The stock has a market cap of $478.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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 upped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $589.48.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials rallied after CEO Gary Dickerson said chipmakers have “tremendous visibility” into demand, implying the AI investment cycle could support equipment orders for years rather than quarters. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Jumps after CEO Says AI Chip Demand Has Years to Run
• Positive Sentiment: Meta Platforms’ reported plan to begin manufacturing an in-house AI chip helped spark a broader rally in semiconductor equipment stocks, including Applied Materials, on expectations that AI infrastructure spending will remain strong. Applied Materials stock jumps as Meta AI chip plan lifts semiconductor names
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel and Needham both raised their price targets on AMAT and kept buy ratings, reinforcing the view that improving fundamentals and AI-driven demand could support further upside. Applied Materials PT Raised to $650 at Stifel
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was removed from several Russell value-oriented indices in late June, a classification change that reflects the stock’s shift toward being viewed more as an AI/semiconductor growth name than a value stock. How Investors Are Reacting To Applied Materials (AMAT) Being Dropped From Key Russell Value Indices
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no reported short interest as of July 10, offering little evidence of bearish positioning from the latest filing.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.