Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC

Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,773 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,461 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 6.9% during the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $55,180,000 after buying an additional 17,397 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in 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 buying an additional 145,050 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 17,288 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,512,000 after acquiring an additional 12,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $1,531,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.5%

Applied Materials stock opened at $354.31 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $127.50 and a twelve month 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 firm has a market cap of $281.18 billion, a PE ratio of 36.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $348.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.11.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 21.70%.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an Overweight rating and lifted its price target on AMAT from $470 to $500, increasing street confidence in AMAT’s upside and supporting buy-side flows. Cantor Fitzgerald Reaffirms Overweight Rating for Applied Materials (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/industry pieces highlight AMAT as one of the top AI-infrastructure plays (a “pick-and-shovel” beneficiary) alongside peers like Lam and Micron, reinforcing the narrative that sustained AI chip ramping supports WFE revenues. Forget NVIDIA: 2 AI Stocks Poised to Be Next Big Winners
• Neutral Sentiment: ASML’s expanding installed‑base/service business and continued EUV-driven upgrades signal broader capital intensity in the equipment ecosystem—a supportive backdrop for AMAT but not a direct company-specific catalyst. ASML’s Installed Base Business Gains Traction: What’s Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and other market roundups note rising investor attention on AMAT; that increases liquidity and interest but is informational rather than fundamental news. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Negative Sentiment: General market caution articles about momentum stocks warn that rapid rallies in semiconductor names can see sharp pullbacks—this raises short‑term valuation risk for highly rated equipment stocks like AMAT. How to Trade a Stock That Just Doubled

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Mizuho lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

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.