Bonness Enterprises Inc. Has $6.37 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Bonness Enterprises Inc. cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,776 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,060 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up approximately 2.2% of Bonness Enterprises Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Bonness Enterprises Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,125,265,000 after purchasing an additional 391,540 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings 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 worth $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 72.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after buying an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,247,838,000 after buying an additional 3,280,730 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $337.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $267.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.51, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $345.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $275.99. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record DRAM tools, new 2nm GAA tool announcements, a 15% dividend increase and steps to strengthen Asian logistics support renewed optimism about AMAT’s AI/DRAM exposure and cash returns to shareholders. Applied Materials Is Up After Record DRAM Tools, Dividend Hike And AI Supply-Chain Push
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst research (Erste Group) is modeling materially higher EPS for FY2026–FY2027 versus consensus (Erste’s FY2027 $13.96 estimate vs. current consensus ~ $9.38), signaling some brokers expect stronger multi-year profitability. Erste Group EPS Estimates for AMAT
• Positive Sentiment: Research notes point to growing end markets—high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced packaging for AI chips—that could accelerate AMAT revenue beyond cyclicality in legacy fabs. Can HBM and Packaging Demand Accelerate AMAT’s Revenue Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation and positioning pieces comparing ASML and Applied highlight both stocks as strong buys but emphasize different moats; ASML retains a premium for EUV dominance while AMAT is seen as cheaper exposure to broad equipment demand. ASML vs. Applied Materials: Which Chip Equipment Stock Offers Better Value in 2026?
• Neutral Sentiment: A MarketBeat piece flags that tech earnings growth hasn’t fully translated into ETF/stock price gains, suggesting broader market flow dynamics (not company fundamentals) may be capping AMAT’s rally. As Tech Earnings Grow, This ETF Still Hasn’t Caught Up (AMAT)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst and media comparisons are elevating ACM Research (ACMR) as a better pure-play WFE/AI equipment buy, which can divert investor dollars away from AMAT in the near term. AMAT vs. ACMR: Which WFE Stock is the Better Buy Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles spotlight ACMR’s momentum and niche wins in wafer-cleaning and AI-driven segments, amplifying competitive fear and rotation risk for AMAT. This AI Semi Equipment Maker Has Been Quietly Chewing Up the Competition
• Negative Sentiment: Broad-sector weakness hit semiconductor-equipment names in a recent selloff (Teradyne, Intel, KLA, Semtech cited alongside AMAT), pressuring the stock independent of AMAT-specific fundamentals. Teradyne, Applied Materials, Intel, KLA and Semtech Shares Plummet

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.