Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. Has $346,000 Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,688 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,806 shares during the period. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,046,057,000 after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,604,002,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value 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. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its quarterly dividend 15% to $0.53, with a low forward payout ratio and long-term dividend growth — signals management confidence and returns cash to shareholders. As Applied Materials Raises Its Dividend 15%, Should You Buy AMAT Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and industry pieces position AMAT as a key beneficiary of an AI-driven semiconductor cycle (memory, logic, tooling), reinforcing growth expectations for equipment makers. Applied Materials: The AI Gold Rush Everyone Is Missing
• Positive Sentiment: Research/technology-focused coverage highlights AMAT’s process node relevance (gate-all-around) and upgrades its buy thesis — technical roadmap upside can drive order cycles. Applied Materials: The Gate-All-Around Inflection Point Justifies A Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT announced a collaboration with Synopsys and NVIDIA to speed quantum chemistry simulations for chip R&D — could shorten materials development cycles and improve competitive positioning. Applied Materials Ties Quantum Simulations To AI Chip R&D Story
• Positive Sentiment: Investor mentions: billionaire investor Ken Fisher included AMAT among notable moves for 2026, providing a retail/market sentiment tailwind. Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT): Billionaire Ken Fisher Remains Positive on Semis
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes the dividend yield remains low (~0.6%) despite the hike and multiple dividend-focused write-ups reiterate yield/context rather than changing the growth story. Applied Materials Dividend Growth Adds New Dimension to AI Trade
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data in recent feeds appears inconsistent/zeroed out and shouldn’t be read as a material new signal today. Short interest data (market feed)

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $352.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $279.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.08, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.65. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $336.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $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, 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.83%.

Applied Materials Company 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.