Central Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Central Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 31.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,103 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,376 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Shelton Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% in the second quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.8% in the second quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,958 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during the second quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Key Stores Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: B. Riley raised its price target to $305 from $270, signaling stronger upside expectations and supporting near‑term buying interest. Applied Materials price target raised to $305 from $270 at B Riley
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho published a bullish forecast calling for strong price appreciation for AMAT, which adds institutional credibility to the rally and can drive inflows from model-driven funds. Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha coverage upgraded AMAT to a “buy”, highlighting AI and semiconductor tailwinds — another endorsement that can influence retail and advisory flows. Applied Materials: Upgrading To Buy Amid AI And Semiconductor Tailwinds
• Positive Sentiment: Feature pieces (e.g., Yahoo UK) frame Applied as central to building the “AI backbone” — reinforcing the narrative that AMAT benefits from multi-year capex cycles in AI datacenter chips. Applied Materials: Engineering the AI Backbone
• Positive Sentiment: Consumer-facing coverage notes the stock is trading up and outlines the drivers (earnings beat, guidance, and AI demand), which can amplify momentum among traders. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Trades Up, Here Is Why
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term performance retrospectives (e.g., 247WallStreet) highlight AMAT’s historical compounding, which supports buy-and-hold investor sentiment. The Chip Equipment Maker That Quietly Turned $1,000 Into $11,280 in a Decade
• Neutral Sentiment: Aggregated analyst forecasts and research reports summarize consensus estimates and scenarios; useful for positioning but not a single catalyst. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Stock Forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: A cautionary piece notes the bull case could change if AI demand weakens despite a steady dividend, highlighting downside risk if end-market cycles soften. The Bull Case For Applied Materials (AMAT) Could Change Following Steady Dividend Amid AI Weakness

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.78.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $256.41 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $276.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.79.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

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.