Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Purchased by Abrams Bison Investments LLC

Abrams Bison Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 22.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,072,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 197,000 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 17.2% of Abrams Bison Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Abrams Bison Investments LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Applied Materials worth $219,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board-approved 15% increase to the quarterly cash dividend (from $0.46 to $0.53), marking nine consecutive years of raises — signals strong free-cash-flow generation and makes the stock more attractive to income and dividend-growth investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Planned addition to the S&P 100 (effective March 23) — likely to create incremental buying from index-tracking funds ahead of the effective date. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New/strengthened customer R&D partnerships focused on AI memory (long-term R&D tie-up with SK hynix and collaboration with Micron on memory) — supports durable equipment demand for next‑gen DRAM/HBM and AI accelerators. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broader market positioning toward semiconductors/AI: hedge funds and money managers are overweighting semiconductor-capital-equipment names (including AMAT) as AI capex remains a dominant 2026 trade theme. That institutional buying is supporting AMAT multiple and flows. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst attention and elevated price targets (median ~$415; multiple firms on “Buy/Overweight”) — helps underpin sentiment and provides buying interest on pullbacks. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Elevated retail and search interest reported by Zacks — signals attention but not directionally predictive by itself. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Takeover/industry M&A chatter (e.g., interest around BE Semiconductor Industries involving Lam and Applied) can boost sentiment but is speculative. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Macro risk: recent oil/ geopolitical-driven moves hit some chip names (Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron) — a spike in risk or higher energy prices can pressure tech cyclicals, including AMAT. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider sell activity and some institutional reallocations reported (large holders trimming in recent quarters) — could weigh on sentiment if selling persists. Article Title

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $341.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $334.48 and a 200-day moving average of $262.48. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $395.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.96, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65.

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 business had revenue of $7.01 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. UBS Group set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.