Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Has $11.86 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Free Report) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,135 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,497 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.9% during the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $55,180,000 after acquiring an additional 17,397 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $635,057,000 after purchasing an additional 145,050 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 82.2% during the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,512,000 after purchasing an additional 12,132 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,801,000 after purchasing an additional 17,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,003 shares of company stock valued at $2,678,139. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.
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Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
• Applied Materials reported Q1 revenue of $7.91 billion, topping expectations, while non-GAAP EPS of $2.86 also beat estimates. Management’s next-quarter revenue guidance was stronger than analysts expected, pointing to continued AI-driven demand for semiconductor equipment and services.
• Argus raised its price target on Applied Materials to $500 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling confidence in further upside from the AI infrastructure buildout and the company’s semiconductor manufacturing equipment leadership.
• Multiple articles highlighted rising earnings estimates and historic gross margin strength, suggesting investors are optimistic that profit growth can continue as premium products and services benefit from strong chip demand.
• Applied Materials is drawing heavy investor attention and positive discussion around its international revenue trends, but these pieces appear more informational than immediate stock-moving catalysts. Investors Heavily Search Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT): Here is What You Need to Know
• Morgan Stanley reportedly downgraded Applied Materials while upgrading Lam Research, which could temper enthusiasm despite the company’s strong fundamentals and may be contributing to pressure on the shares. Lam Research gets an upgrade, Applied Materials cut at Morgan Stanley

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $406.91 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $382.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $322.58. The company has a market cap of $322.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.47 and a twelve month high of $448.45.
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Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 17.28%.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $465.14.

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.
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