State of Wyoming Buys 4,750 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

State of Wyoming raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 395.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,951 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,750 shares during the quarter. State of Wyoming’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Mizuho set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $298.14.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value 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 represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 5.6%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $322.32 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $344.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $281.15 and a 200 day moving average of $227.46. The stock has a market cap of $255.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

More Applied Materials News

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 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.