Capital Investment Counsel Inc Trims Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Capital Investment Counsel Inc trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,065 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,689 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up about 1.7% of Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $1,604,002,000. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,409,320,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $2,483,183,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700,349 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1,704.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,439,598 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $499,483,000 after purchasing an additional 2,304,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 417.3% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,732,015 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $317,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397,217 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $322.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $255.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.15, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $333.03. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $270.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.58.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, January 9th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $294.75.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages raised price targets and reiterated overweight/buy views — KeyBanc bumped its target to $380 citing DRAM-driven capacity growth and vertical scaling potential; Needham raised its target to $390. KeyBanc Raises Applied Materials (AMAT) Target to $380, Keeps Overweight Rating Needham & Company LLC Increases Applied Materials Price Target to $390.00
• Positive Sentiment: Shares reached an all‑time high intraday, reflecting strong momentum and demand for semiconductor equipment exposure. Applied Materials stock hits all-time high at $332.31 USD
• Positive Sentiment: Applied’s display segment is rebounding: Zacks notes Q4 display revenue jumped ~68% with stronger OLED and advanced systems demand — a potential multi‑year growth driver beyond chips. Can AMAT Lead the Display Market With Advanced OLED and AR/VR Push?
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 2026 earnings call set for Feb. 12 — investors will focus on revenue guidance, memory demand trends, and China exposure. Applied Materials fiscal Q1 2026 earnings conference call details (company IR)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is broad and bullish overall (many Buy/Overweight ratings and a wide range of targets); median target noted in some aggregation is lower than the newest highs, highlighting dispersion in expectations. Applied Materials announces earnings call (QuiverQuant summary)
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation scrutiny after the rally — several write‑ups flag that shares have run up strongly and investors should reassess forward multiples and upside. Applied Materials (AMAT) Valuation Check After Strong Recent Share Price Gains
• Negative Sentiment: China exposure and recent revenue softness remain a risk: AMAT’s revenue was down ~3.5% YoY in the last quarter, and some industry comparisons note China‑facing headwinds that could limit near‑term upside. Which Semiconductor Equipment Stock Has More Upside in 2026? (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: At least one retail‑oriented column argues there’s a reason to sell vs. rotate into an alternative, highlighting the risk of buying late in a strong run. 1 Reason to Sell AMAT and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 in the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.