Cullen Investment Group LTD. Invests $3.15 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 12,239 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,145,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. State Street Corp increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 391,540 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,046,057,000 after buying an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of 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 worth $2,483,183,000 after buying an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,247,838,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,730 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $369.34 on Thursday. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $344.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $395.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $293.11 billion, a PE ratio of 37.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. KGI Securities raised shares of Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. 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. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investor letters point to improving wafer‑fab spending visibility, which supports AMAT’s order outlook and medium‑term revenue cadence. Applied Materials (AMAT) Surged on Improving Wafer-Fab Spending Visibility
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple fund manager letters and coverage highlight strong AI‑chip demand and resilient operating performance at Applied, supporting upside to margins and backlog. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Gained on Strong AI Chip Demand and Resilient Operating Performance
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. policy initiatives and a large investment consortium aimed at semiconductor, energy and critical‑minerals supply chains increase the addressable market for equipment suppliers like AMAT over the long run. US Semiconductor Push Adds New Thread To Applied Materials Story
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street sentiment remains constructive in recent coverage, with analysts and bulls pointing to AMAT’s strong fundamentals and reasonable forward multiple given secular AI/capex tailwinds. Wall Street Bulls Look Optimistic About Applied Materials (AMAT): Should You Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several “is AMAT a buy?” and trending‑stock pieces summarize bullish theses (valuation, AI exposure) but contain broader market commentary rather than new company-specific catalysts. Is Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) A Good Stock To Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports show a large reported “increase” in short interest for March but the published figures appear erroneous (zero shares / NaN); treat that data point cautiously until corrected.
• Negative Sentiment: Offsetting the positives, broader tech/ETF outflows and profit‑taking in high‑beta tech names are applying near‑term pressure on AMAT shares despite strong underlying demand signals.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer 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. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.