Avalon Trust Co Increases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Avalon Trust Co increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 644.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,441 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,441 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.5% in the third quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 657 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $135,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 3.0% during the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat + aggressive guidance: AMAT’s Feb. quarter topped estimates and management issued strong growth commentary (management projected robust 2026 sales and raised near‑term outlook), which is the fundamental catalyst behind renewed analyst optimism and higher targets. Zacks Analyst Blog
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and target increases: Zacks moved AMAT to Strong Buy and major brokers (Goldman, UBS, Barclays, Stifel, Susquehanna) have lifted price targets — these research moves increase buy‑side conviction and can drive follow‑on flows. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Considered a Good Investment by Brokers
• Positive Sentiment: Heavy bullish options activity: reported large volume of call purchases (well above typical daily levels) implies traders are positioning for more upside or hedging existing longs — such flows can amplify short‑term moves. Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor events scheduled: management will appear at upcoming conferences — useful for more detail/Q&A but not an immediate earnings shock. Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports look unreliable: published data showing zero/NaN short interest and 0.0 days‑to‑cover are likely reporting errors and should be ignored for positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares (~$1.8M). Routine liquidity sales are common, but some investors interpret insider selling as a mild cautionary signal. SEC Form 4

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,609 shares of company stock worth $2,914,628. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $375.38 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $297.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $377.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $304.98 and a 200-day moving average of $243.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share 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. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several 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 company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $420.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.04.

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.