DAVENPORT & Co LLC Sells 6,815 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

DAVENPORT & Co LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,640 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,815 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $9,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Applied Materials by 225.4% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $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% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 5,700,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group set a $430.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Finally, DZ Bank raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $369.34 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $395.95. 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 company has a market capitalization of $293.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $344.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investor letters point to improving wafer‑fab spending visibility, which supports AMAT’s order outlook and medium‑term revenue cadence. Applied Materials (AMAT) Surged on Improving Wafer-Fab Spending Visibility
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple fund manager letters and coverage highlight strong AI‑chip demand and resilient operating performance at Applied, supporting upside to margins and backlog. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Gained on Strong AI Chip Demand and Resilient Operating Performance
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. policy initiatives and a large investment consortium aimed at semiconductor, energy and critical‑minerals supply chains increase the addressable market for equipment suppliers like AMAT over the long run. US Semiconductor Push Adds New Thread To Applied Materials Story
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains constructive in recent coverage, with analysts and bulls pointing to AMAT’s strong fundamentals and reasonable forward multiple given secular AI/capex tailwinds. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About Applied Materials (AMAT): Should You Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several “is AMAT a buy?” and trending‑stock pieces summarize bullish theses (valuation, AI exposure) but contain broader market commentary rather than new company-specific catalysts. Is Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports show a large reported “increase” in short interest for March but the published figures appear erroneous (zero shares / NaN); treat that data point cautiously until corrected.
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting the positives, broader tech/ETF outflows and profit‑taking in high‑beta tech names are applying near‑term pressure on AMAT shares despite strong underlying demand signals.

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.