Gabelli Funds LLC Boosts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 72,300 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,650 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $24,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $19,731,523,000 after buying an additional 330,197 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Applied Materials by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,947,891,000 after acquiring an additional 373,012 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,858,543,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,746,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558,749 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is still viewed favorably versus a peer in advanced packaging, with commentary highlighting its AI-related packaging exposure, broad chipmaking portfolio, and high-margin services as reasons it may be a safer long-term bet. AMAT vs. Q: Which Advanced Packaging Stock is a Safer Bet Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to point to AI-led semiconductor demand, with Applied Materials repeatedly cited as one of the stocks benefiting from ongoing chip investment and stronger equipment spending. Buy These 5 Semiconductor Stocks Charged Up by AI Enthusiasm
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced it will report fiscal third-quarter 2026 results on August 13, and recent previews suggest analysts expect another double-digit earnings increase, which can support sentiment ahead of the print. What to Expect From Applied Materials’ Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s short-interest update appears to be data-noisy, showing zero shares outstanding and no meaningful days-to-cover signal, so it is unlikely to be a real trading driver.
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials remains part of a broader semiconductor sector that is experiencing profit-taking and valuation-driven consolidation after a powerful AI rally, which is weighing on sentiment across the group. Semiconductor Crossroads: Healthy Consolidation or Deeper Repricing?
• Negative Sentiment: The pullback in semiconductor names suggests investors are locking in gains and reassessing high expectations, which is pressuring AMAT along with the rest of the sector despite solid fundamentals.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 4.7%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $536.25 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $544.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $423.10. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market capitalization of $425.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

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.