Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Holdings Lifted by Country Trust Bank

Country Trust Bank grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 274,715 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,592 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.3% of Country Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $70,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.9% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $55,180,000 after acquiring an additional 17,397 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $635,057,000 after acquiring an additional 145,050 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% in the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,801,000 after acquiring an additional 17,288 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 82.2% in the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,512,000 after acquiring an additional 12,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,531,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $352.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.09, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $395.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $347.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $283.95.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were 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 owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.