Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $334.82 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 979,609 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,841 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $334,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials gained attention after reports of a 10-year AI packaging partnership with TSMC, reinforcing its role in the AI supply chain. Applied Materials (AMAT) Lands 10 Year TSMC AI Packaging Partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators remain upbeat on AMAT’s AI demand outlook, with Bernstein rating the stock a Buy and Stifel-style bullish commentary saying the company should benefit from a long AI investment cycle. Applied Materials (AMAT) Gets a Buy from Bernstein
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials was included in lists of AI beneficiaries poised to produce strong cash flow and capitalize on heavy semiconductor infrastructure spending. The AI Boom Isn’t Over: 3 Stocks to Buy for 2H 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Market headlines also noted Morgan Stanley kept an Equal Weight rating on AMAT, which is supportive but not a strong bullish signal. Morgan Stanley Maintains an “Equal Weight” Rating on Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT)
• Negative Sentiment: Earlier trading saw AMAT fall with the broader chip sector after weakness in Asian semiconductor names and an oil-price spike pressured tech stocks. Intel, AMD, and Applied Materials Drop 4% as SK Hynix Rout and Oil Spike Hit Chip Stocks

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Argus lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned 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 a consensus target price of $589.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $595.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $525.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $407.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $472.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

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.