Hel Ved Capital Management Ltd Acquires Shares of 32,245 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Hel Ved Capital Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 32,245 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,287,000. Applied Materials makes up approximately 2.2% of Hel Ved Capital Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 17.1% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 1,558,749 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 683,745 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $175,716,000 after acquiring an additional 45,138 shares during the period. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 119,777.5% during the 4th quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 266,128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $68,392,000 after acquiring an additional 265,906 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 5,761 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, ROI Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. ROI Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating on Applied Materials, saying investment in new chip supply remains strong and supporting the stock’s bullish momentum. Applied Materials and KLA Are Surging. Why You Should Buy the Stocks, Says This Analyst.
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its earnings estimates for Applied Materials, lifting FY2026 EPS forecast to $12.20 and FY2027 to $16.29, while keeping a Buy rating. Applied Materials estimate revision
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted Applied Materials as a top momentum and AI-beneficiary stock, with commentary pointing to strong May performance, heavy hedge fund ownership, and broad analyst support. Is Applied Materials (AMAT) A Good Stock to Buy Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Investor attention is also being fueled by a recent 52-week-high move and reports of continued rotation into chip equipment stocks, reinforcing the view that AMAT remains a favored AI infrastructure name. Why Did AMAT, AMPG, OSCR Stocks Surge To 52-Week Highs Today?
• Neutral Sentiment: Other coverage today was largely repeated “great momentum stock” and “attracting investor attention” pieces, reflecting strong market interest rather than a new company-specific catalyst. Applied Materials (AMAT) is a Great Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $567.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $569.95. The company has a market capitalization of $450.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $427.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $352.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $483.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total transaction of $1,247,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 136,113 shares in the company, valued at $67,901,331.18. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.