Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV decreased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 23.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 359,763 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 108,174 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $122,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $175,037,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Applied Materials by 6.6% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,327,100 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $795,380,000 after acquiring an additional 144,100 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 15.9% in the first quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at $1,525,000. Finally, AIA Group Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth about $12,551,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $529.66 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $420.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.73, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $533.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $414.11. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last 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 predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the company’s growth outlook and AI-driven demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO comments reinforcing the AI investment thesis may help support longer-term sentiment around the stock. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that AMAT has been drawing increased attention from investors, but the piece was mainly a stock-screening update rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary suggested Applied Materials may be trading above fair value after a strong multi-year run, which could limit upside even if earnings remain solid. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: A broad semiconductor selloff is pressuring AMAT along with peers like AMD and Intel, as the market rotates out of chip stocks and into other areas. Article link

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.

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.