Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Bought by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,023,240 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,448 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises about 0.8% of ProShare Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Applied Materials worth $523,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,589,000. CX Institutional lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 333.3% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,631,000 after purchasing an additional 19,886 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 3.0% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $729,211,000 after purchasing an additional 28,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $334,521,000 after buying an additional 105,776 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. William Blair started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, New Street Research decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $632.70.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $390.09 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $203.40 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $309.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $457.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $443.63.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.28%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ planned move to raise its Besi stake to 20% is strengthening its exposure to hybrid bonding, a packaging technology that could benefit from rising AI-chip complexity. TIKR describes a bullish long-term scenario, with a potential price target of approximately $806 versus a roughly $628 Wall Street target. Applied Materials hybrid bonding analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights a quarter with 51% growth and argues that AMAT trades at about 23 times forward earnings, a valuation that may look reasonable if AI-related semiconductor-equipment demand remains strong. The company also recently exceeded earnings and revenue estimates and issued fourth-quarter EPS guidance of $3.82–$4.22. Applied Materials growth and valuation analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: AMAT is attracting unusually high investor attention, but the Zacks reports primarily review the company’s prospects rather than identify a new fundamental catalyst. Zacks Applied Materials investor attention report
• Negative Sentiment: Compared with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Applied Materials has shown a flatter revenue trajectory and less consistent quarter-over-quarter growth. That comparison may reinforce concerns that AMAT’s elevated valuation already discounts substantial AI-driven demand. Applied Materials versus Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.