Czech National Bank Increases Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 210,063 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,245 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $53,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cullen Investment Group LTD. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $3,145,000. Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Client 1ST Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,823 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Salvus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,688 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,233,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Fjell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $302,000. Finally, Bath Savings Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co now owns 1,084 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $369.34 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $293.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.80, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $344.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.54. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. KGI Securities upgraded Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho upped their price target on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.