B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,749 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 27,179 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $34,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1,049.4% in the third quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 14.0% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 21,559 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.6% during the third quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 4,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Guardian Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $255,000. Finally, Powell Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $257,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market pieces highlight a renewed semiconductor opportunity in 2026, which benefits AMAT as a leading chip-equipment supplier; this underpins investor confidence in the company’s medium‑to‑long‑term demand. Semiconductor Opportunity Is Here
• Positive Sentiment: A recent feature argues AMAT is balancing near-term sector turbulence while maintaining a long‑term chip demand story — reinforcing buy‑and‑hold narratives for chip-capex exposure. Applied Materials Balances Sector Turbulence With Long Term Chip Demand Story
• Positive Sentiment: Technical commentary notes AMAT broke above its 20‑day moving average, signaling short‑term bullish momentum that can attract momentum traders. Applied Materials (AMAT) Recently Broke Out Above the 20-Day Moving Average
• Positive Sentiment: Context pieces point out AMAT has gained strongly over recent months (≈+33% over three months), showing momentum that can support share prices when markets stabilize. AMAT Climbs 33.4% in 3 Months: Time to Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group initiated coverage with a “hold” rating — neither bullish nor bearish but may limit upside from fresh upbeat upgrades. Tickerreport: Erste Group Starts Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short‑interest data reported as zeros/NaN appear erroneous; no clear signal from short sellers right now (data should be treated cautiously).
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure: Nasdaq weakness and falling futures are dragging high‑beta tech and semicap names lower, pressuring AMAT despite company strengths. Live Nasdaq Composite: Markets Buckle Under Pressure With No Relief in Sight
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical risk and rising oil amid Middle East conflict are lifting energy prices and weighing on risk assets ahead of a key jobs report — a near‑term headwind for AMAT. Stock Futures Fall, Oil Jumps as Middle East War Continues; Key Jobs Report on Deck

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Susquehanna upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $324.74 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $395.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $326.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $256.15. 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 has a market cap of $257.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.65.

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 expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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