FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. Purchases 6,662 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 217.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,730 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,662 shares during the quarter. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,992,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,125,265,000 after acquiring an additional 391,540 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,836,807,000 after purchasing an additional 407,282 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,483,183,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700,349 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,936,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,635,992,000 after buying an additional 1,075,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,604,002,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages raised price targets and reiterated overweight/buy views — KeyBanc bumped its target to $380 citing DRAM-driven capacity growth and vertical scaling potential; Needham raised its target to $390. KeyBanc Raises Applied Materials (AMAT) Target to $380, Keeps Overweight Rating Needham & Company LLC Increases Applied Materials Price Target to $390.00
• Positive Sentiment: Shares reached an all‑time high intraday, reflecting strong momentum and demand for semiconductor equipment exposure. Applied Materials stock hits all-time high at $332.31 USD
• Positive Sentiment: Applied’s display segment is rebounding: Zacks notes Q4 display revenue jumped ~68% with stronger OLED and advanced systems demand — a potential multi‑year growth driver beyond chips. Can AMAT Lead the Display Market With Advanced OLED and AR/VR Push?
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 2026 earnings call set for Feb. 12 — investors will focus on revenue guidance, memory demand trends, and China exposure. Applied Materials fiscal Q1 2026 earnings conference call details (company IR)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is broad and bullish overall (many Buy/Overweight ratings and a wide range of targets); median target noted in some aggregation is lower than the newest highs, highlighting dispersion in expectations. Applied Materials announces earnings call (QuiverQuant summary)
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation scrutiny after the rally — several write‑ups flag that shares have run up strongly and investors should reassess forward multiples and upside. Applied Materials (AMAT) Valuation Check After Strong Recent Share Price Gains
• Negative Sentiment: China exposure and recent revenue softness remain a risk: AMAT’s revenue was down ~3.5% YoY in the last quarter, and some industry comparisons note China‑facing headwinds that could limit near‑term upside. Which Semiconductor Equipment Stock Has More Upside in 2026? (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: At least one retail‑oriented column argues there’s a reason to sell vs. rotate into an alternative, highlighting the risk of buying late in a strong run. 1 Reason to Sell AMAT and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Susquehanna raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a report on Sunday, January 11th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $285.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $294.75.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.2%

AMAT opened at $322.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.15, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $270.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.58. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $333.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The business 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Applied Materials Company 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.