Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Has $20.80 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 11.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 101,402 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 13,725 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $20,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board-approved 15% increase to the quarterly cash dividend (from $0.46 to $0.53), marking nine consecutive years of raises — signals strong free-cash-flow generation and makes the stock more attractive to income and dividend-growth investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Planned addition to the S&P 100 (effective March 23) — likely to create incremental buying from index-tracking funds ahead of the effective date. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New/strengthened customer R&D partnerships focused on AI memory (long-term R&D tie-up with SK hynix and collaboration with Micron on memory) — supports durable equipment demand for next‑gen DRAM/HBM and AI accelerators. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broader market positioning toward semiconductors/AI: hedge funds and money managers are overweighting semiconductor-capital-equipment names (including AMAT) as AI capex remains a dominant 2026 trade theme. That institutional buying is supporting AMAT multiple and flows. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst attention and elevated price targets (median ~$415; multiple firms on “Buy/Overweight”) — helps underpin sentiment and provides buying interest on pullbacks. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Elevated retail and search interest reported by Zacks — signals attention but not directionally predictive by itself. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Takeover/industry M&A chatter (e.g., interest around BE Semiconductor Industries involving Lam and Applied) can boost sentiment but is speculative. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Macro risk: recent oil/ geopolitical-driven moves hit some chip names (Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron) — a spike in risk or higher energy prices can pressure tech cyclicals, including AMAT. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider sell activity and some institutional reallocations reported (large holders trimming in recent quarters) — could weigh on sentiment if selling persists. Article Title

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $341.53 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $334.48 and a 200-day moving average of $263.17. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $395.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $271.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank started coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

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.