Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by ABN AMRO Bank N.V.

ABN AMRO Bank N.V. raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,372 shares during the quarter. ABN AMRO Bank N.V.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $18,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target lift — a recent analyst move raised AMAT’s price target by ~17%, signaling renewed analyst confidence in the company’s medium-term outlook and providing a bullish anchor for investors. Applied Materials (AMAT) price target increased by 17.14% to 329.63
• Positive Sentiment: Street expects Q1 upside — Morgan Stanley published a note expecting Applied to surpass Q1 estimates, reinforcing a near-term earnings beat narrative that can support the stock if results meet or beat. Morgan Stanley expects Applied Materials to surpass Q1 estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings-beat history and growth profile — analysts and Zacks highlight AMAT’s history of beating estimates and its strong growth characteristics, which supports investor expectations for continued outperformance into upcoming reports. Will Applied Materials (AMAT) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/positioning debate — commentary asks whether AMAT is “too late” after a large one‑year gain; these pieces frame investor debate over valuation and rotation rather than providing a clear catalyst. Is It Too Late To Consider Applied Materials (AMAT) After Its 80% One Year Surge?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data appears unreliable — an item flagged a large increase in short interest but reported 0 shares (data anomaly); this is not a clear driver given the suspect numbers and should be treated cautiously.
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy intraday selling despite positive developments — reports note a sharp intraday plunge (midday selling) even though the company had favorable items in its favor; that suggests profit-taking, headline-driven flows or rotation out of chip-capex names pressured the stock. Applied Materials Stock (AMAT) Plunges despite Hopes for a ‘More Constructive Direction’
• Negative Sentiment: Underperforming the broader market on the day — market commentary explains AMAT fell more than the broader indices, consistent with sector rotation and headline-driven volatility that can accelerate declines during high-volume selling days. Here’s Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Fell More Than Broader Market

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $275.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $273.00 to $364.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $311.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 6.6%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $297.60 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $344.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.29, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $285.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.79.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. The company’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, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

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.