Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT is F&V Capital Management LLC’s 8th Largest Position

F&V Capital Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 45.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 93,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,235 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for 4.3% of F&V Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. F&V Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1,008.1% during the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,619,000 after purchasing an additional 32,893 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 23.0% in the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after buying an additional 2,363 shares during the last quarter. Sienna Gestion increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 113,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $18,924,000 after buying an additional 10,468 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 145,277 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,601,000 after buying an additional 35,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 13,360.6% during the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 694,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $127,129,000 after acquiring an additional 689,272 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.78.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $256.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $203.32 billion, a PE ratio of 29.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $276.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $240.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $203.08.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

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.