Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Holdings Boosted by National Pension Service

National Pension Service grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,257,690 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 56,147 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.28% of Applied Materials worth $462,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $410,000. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $241,000. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 19.6% in the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,375 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho upgraded AMAT to Outperform and raised its price target to $370, citing accelerating WFE (wafer fab equipment) spending as a multi‑year tailwind. Mizuho Upgrades Applied Materials (AMAT) to Outperform on Global WFE Tailwinds
• Positive Sentiment: Key analysts (including KeyBanc and others cited across outlets) have raised price targets (KeyBanc to $380) and highlighted AMAT’s diversified position in deposition/etch and benefits from increased chip manufacturing intensity. Mizuho upgrades Applied Materials to Outperform as WFE spending accelerates
• Positive Sentiment: Several buy‑side pieces (Seeking Alpha, analyst blogs) call AMAT an attractive buy into the upcoming Q1 report, pointing to semiconductor momentum and durable multi‑year tailwinds. Applied Materials: Attractive Buy Ahead Of The Q1 2026 Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity shows large institutional/speculative positioning (“whales”), which can amplify moves in either direction but doesn’t guarantee fundamental change. Traders should watch open interest and expiries. This Is What Whales Are Betting On Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry discussion is underway about AMAT’s ability to challenge ASML at the high end — a long‑term strategic theme that could support upside but is uncertain and execution‑dependent. Can AMAT Break ASML’s Monopoly?
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks highlights rising trade and cost pressures that could offset semiconductor momentum — a nearer‑term risk to margins and guidance that may be pressuring the stock today. Applied Materials leads Zacks’ latest Analyst Blog
• Negative Sentiment: Technical/valuation factors: AMAT has run sharply higher over the past year and now trades at an elevated multiple (PE and PEG above historical norms). Higher trading volume on the pullback suggests profit‑taking and short‑term selling pressure. (Background market data.)

Applied Materials Stock Down 5.6%

AMAT stock opened at $322.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $255.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $281.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.03. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $344.60. 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $285.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Mizuho set a $370.00 price target on Applied Materials and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Susquehanna upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.