Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Position Raised by Argus Investors Counsel Inc.

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 24.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,361 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,222 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up about 2.3% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% during 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. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during 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 valued at $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 5,700,349 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coatue Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $685,684,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. UBS Group set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.04.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Breakthrough tool launch — Applied announced new 2nm GAA deposition tools and broader chipmaking systems aimed at next‑gen AI logic chips; market reacted strongly to the product cycle and AI demand implications. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Price target and ratings lift — Susquehanna raised its AMAT price target to $500 and moved to a positive rating, and other brokers have reiterated buys or a “moderate buy” consensus, providing analyst‑driven upside. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage confirmations — Bernstein reaffirmed a buy and coverage summaries show an overall constructive analyst stance, supporting investor confidence. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: DRAM business gains traction — Coverage notes strong DRAM demand driven by AI and key partnerships, but cautions that rising competition could limit the durability of the surge. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data flagged but appears to be a data anomaly — a report showed a jump in “short interest” figures that resolve to zero shares (NaN/inconsistent), so no clear bearish signal from shorts. (data entry 4/10)
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context — broader market moves (e.g., macro headlines and risk‑on sentiment) have amplified momentum in semiconductors; useful but not AMAT‑specific. Article Title

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $399.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.80 and a fifty-two week high of $407.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $351.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.97. The stock has a market cap of $316.81 billion, a PE ratio of 40.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.64.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.70%.

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.