Central Bank & Trust Co. Decreases Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Central Bank & Trust Co. reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 31.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,103 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,376 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,604,002,000. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $1,409,320,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $882,396,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 43.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,573,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $808,853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,691,428 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $256.41 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $240.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.79. The stock has a market cap of $203.32 billion, a PE ratio of 29.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $276.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.20%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: B. Riley raised its price target to $305 from $270, signaling stronger upside expectations and supporting near‑term buying interest. Applied Materials price target raised to $305 from $270 at B Riley
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho published a bullish forecast calling for strong price appreciation for AMAT, which adds institutional credibility to the rally and can drive inflows from model-driven funds. Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha coverage upgraded AMAT to a “buy”, highlighting AI and semiconductor tailwinds — another endorsement that can influence retail and advisory flows. Applied Materials: Upgrading To Buy Amid AI And Semiconductor Tailwinds
• Positive Sentiment: Feature pieces (e.g., Yahoo UK) frame Applied as central to building the “AI backbone” — reinforcing the narrative that AMAT benefits from multi-year capex cycles in AI datacenter chips. Applied Materials: Engineering the AI Backbone
• Positive Sentiment: Consumer-facing coverage notes the stock is trading up and outlines the drivers (earnings beat, guidance, and AI demand), which can amplify momentum among traders. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Trades Up, Here Is Why
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term performance retrospectives (e.g., 247WallStreet) highlight AMAT’s historical compounding, which supports buy-and-hold investor sentiment. The Chip Equipment Maker That Quietly Turned $1,000 Into $11,280 in a Decade
• Neutral Sentiment: Aggregated analyst forecasts and research reports summarize consensus estimates and scenarios; useful for positioning but not a single catalyst. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Stock Forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: A cautionary piece notes the bull case could change if AI demand weakens despite a steady dividend, highlighting downside risk if end-market cycles soften. The Bull Case For Applied Materials (AMAT) Could Change Following Steady Dividend Amid AI Weakness

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. B. Riley boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.78.

Applied Materials Profile

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.