M&G PLC Trims Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

M&G PLC lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 20.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,356 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,333 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Summit Insights raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. KGI Securities upgraded Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.04.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 / fiscal Q1 results beat expectations and management gave aggressive forward guidance (CEO projected ~20% calendar‑year revenue growth and raised Q2 outlook), which sparked the rally. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms bumped up price targets and ratings after the results — notable raises reported (Needham and others), backing upside to current consensus and supporting further upside momentum. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are increasingly framing AMAT as a primary beneficiary of the AI-driven “Giga‑cycle”; TD Cowen and other shops have raised targets (e.g., Cowen to ~$450), reinforcing buy‑side conviction. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader industry coverage highlights AMAT’s leadership among equipment suppliers in the current multi‑year chip investment wave — a positive thematic tailwind but already largely priced into many forecasts. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management scheduled investor conference appearances/fireside chats — useful for additional color on demand and margin trajectory but not an immediate catalyst on its own. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Published short‑interest reports show anomalous “0 shares / NaN” figures for mid‑February — appears to be a data error and does not indicate a meaningful short squeeze. Investors should rely on standard data sources for positioning metrics. (data entries)

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was 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 $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’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 owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $359.13 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $376.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $285.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.76, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $298.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

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.