Dakota Wealth Management Boosts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Dakota Wealth Management increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 38.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,865 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,671 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $1,604,002,000. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,409,320,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1,704.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,439,598 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $499,483,000 after acquiring an additional 2,304,369 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 417.3% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,732,015 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $317,053,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397,217 shares during the last quarter. 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: Q1 beat, stronger guidance and new 2nm-focused tools — Applied reported revenue and EPS above expectations, issued solid Q2 revenue/earnings outlook and highlighted new transistor/materials engineering systems for 2nm-and-beyond, plus a $252.5M export deal that underscores near-term revenue drivers. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 5.3% After Strong Q1, Export Deal And 2nm Push – Has The Bull Case Changed?
• Positive Sentiment: AI/HBM demand and industry positioning — Coverage highlights AMAT’s central role in the nanotech supply chain (deposition/film tools) and rising HBM/AI chip demand that should sustain bookings and margins; analysts and scoring services cited operational efficiency and AI exposure as positives. The Supply Chain Quietly Powering the AI Boom—And 4 Ways to Play It
• Neutral Sentiment: Company supplier awards — Applied announced Supplier Excellence Awards recognizing quality, delivery and sustainability among suppliers; positive for operations/PR but unlikely to move near-term revenue by itself. Applied Materials Awards Suppliers for Outstanding Performance
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market tailwinds — A risk-on session (S&P, Nasdaq up) after easing AI disruption fears helped semiconductor-equipment names rally alongside AMAT, amplifying earnings-driven moves. Stocks Settle Higher as AI Disruption Fears Ease
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by executives/directors — Recent Form 4 disclosures show CAO Adam Sanders and Director Judy Bruner sold shares (reducing positions ~10–12%), a potential near-term headwind for sentiment even though such sales can be routine diversification. CAO Adam Sanders Form 4 Director Judy Bruner Form 4

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DZ Bank raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Susquehanna raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and increased their price target for the company from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, 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 transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 10,112 shares of company stock worth $3,660,532 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.2%

AMAT stock opened at $377.93 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $380.51. The company has a market capitalization of $299.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.70. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $309.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $246.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders 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 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

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.