Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Position Trimmed by AMJ Financial Wealth Management

AMJ Financial Wealth Management decreased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 60.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,813 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 30,500 shares during the quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 391,540 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,836,807,000 after purchasing an additional 407,282 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in 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 worth $2,483,183,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,936,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,635,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,525 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $1,604,002,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $375.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $297.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $304.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $243.13. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $377.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $420.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho raised their target price on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.04.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

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 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. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 9,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,914,628 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat + aggressive guidance: AMAT’s Feb. quarter topped estimates and management issued strong growth commentary (management projected robust 2026 sales and raised near‑term outlook), which is the fundamental catalyst behind renewed analyst optimism and higher targets. Zacks Analyst Blog
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and target increases: Zacks moved AMAT to Strong Buy and major brokers (Goldman, UBS, Barclays, Stifel, Susquehanna) have lifted price targets — these research moves increase buy‑side conviction and can drive follow‑on flows. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Considered a Good Investment by Brokers
• Positive Sentiment: Heavy bullish options activity: reported large volume of call purchases (well above typical daily levels) implies traders are positioning for more upside or hedging existing longs — such flows can amplify short‑term moves. Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor events scheduled: management will appear at upcoming conferences — useful for more detail/Q&A but not an immediate earnings shock. Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports look unreliable: published data showing zero/NaN short interest and 0.0 days‑to‑cover are likely reporting errors and should be ignored for positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares (~$1.8M). Routine liquidity sales are common, but some investors interpret insider selling as a mild cautionary signal. SEC Form 4

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.