Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Bought by OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.5% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 71,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,005 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $24,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Evolve Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.0% during the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Applied Materials by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $21,149,000 after buying an additional 3,508 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,082,000. Finally, Elevatus Welath Management lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 115.9% during the 4th quarter. Elevatus Welath Management now owns 10,821 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,781,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $536.25 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $544.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $423.10. The company has a market cap of $425.76 billion, a PE ratio of 50.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at $219,608,106.26. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AMAT. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $570.00 to $705.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.

Applied Materials 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.