Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Purchased by Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,132 shares during the quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third 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. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $31,000. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’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 value 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 $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’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 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 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target sharply to $400 (from $250) and reiterated a Buy ahead of earnings, signaling increased analyst confidence and likely supporting buying interest. Citi Jumps Applied Materials (AMAT) Target Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Pre-earnings research (Zacks) expects AMAT to beat estimates, highlighting the company’s revenue/earnings mix as favorable — a potential short-term catalyst that can lift the stock on an upside surprise. Applied Materials (AMAT) Expected to Beat Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also flags AMAT as a strong momentum stock, which can attract momentum-driven flows into the shares ahead of a likely volatility event (earnings). Here’s Why Applied Materials (AMAT) is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: An earnings release and investor event are scheduled for Feb. 12; this is the immediate catalyst and will drive intraday moves depending on results and guidance. Applied Materials (AMAT) to Release Earnings on Thursday
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures appear to be a data glitch (showing 0 shares and NaN changes), so there’s no clear short-covering signal from that dataset at present.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage flagged a sharp pullback tied to export-control uncertainty despite robust AI-driven equipment demand — a reminder that geopolitical/export risks can quickly reverse sentiment if guidance or commentary raises red flags. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Down 11.6% After AI-Driven Equipment Demand Meets Export-Control Uncertainty

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Applied Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.15.

Applied Materials Trading Up 6.1%

Applied Materials stock opened at $322.51 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $344.60. 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 stock has a market cap of $255.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.70. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $288.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $231.21.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly 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 forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

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.