Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT is Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s 10th Largest Position

Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 522,534 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,947 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 1.3% of Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Achmea Investment Management B.V. owned 0.07% of Applied Materials worth $106,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $55,180,000 after buying an additional 17,397 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $635,057,000 after acquiring an additional 145,050 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 13,360.6% in the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 694,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $127,129,000 after acquiring an additional 689,272 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 21.8% in the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,801,000 after acquiring an additional 17,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan grew its position in Applied Materials by 82.2% in the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,512,000 after acquiring an additional 12,132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. 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 valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank started coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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 Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $352.46 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $395.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $336.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.80. 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.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 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.