Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Pacifica Partners Inc.

Pacifica Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,637 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,193 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up approximately 6.3% of Pacifica Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Pacifica Partners Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $21,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 59.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $695 and maintained a Buy rating, implying substantial potential upside from recent trading levels. The upgrade reflects continued confidence in Applied Materials’ semiconductor-equipment business. Tickerreport.com article
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group lifted its FY2027 earnings-per-share forecast to $18.56 from $17.13. Although the firm retained a Hold rating, the higher estimate suggests improving expectations for long-term demand and profitability.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continue to describe Applied Materials’ longer-term prospects favorably, with the company viewed as a beneficiary of semiconductor and artificial-intelligence infrastructure investment. Comparisons with Corning also highlight AMAT’s exposure to the chip-manufacturing equipment side of the AI supply chain. Corning versus Applied Materials article
• Negative Sentiment: Higher oil prices and a global bond selloff pushed the 10-year Treasury yield toward 4.79%. Rising yields increase corporate financing costs and reduce the present value of future earnings, creating pressure on higher-valuation technology and semiconductor stocks. Semiconductor stocks trade down article
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks broadly declined as investors reassessed expensive growth stocks in response to the jump in long-term interest rates. Applied Materials’ elevated valuation and relatively high market sensitivity make it vulnerable to this risk-off rotation. Semiconductor stocks slide article

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% 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 sold 281,692 shares of company stock worth $171,378,059. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $658.45.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $441.85 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $350.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.09, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $544.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $459.28. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The firm’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.

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.