ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 283,635 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,688 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises 0.7% of ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $58,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,125,265,000 after buying an additional 391,540 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,836,807,000 after acquiring an additional 407,282 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 72.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,936,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,635,992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,525 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,604,002,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: TSMC’s $52–$56B 2026 capex guidance creates near‑term, high‑certainty demand for equipment suppliers like Applied Materials — MarketBeat explains that TSMC must buy new, specialized deposition and other tools (benefitting AMAT) to move to 2nm production. The $56 Billion Draft: Follow TSMC’s CapEx Stream
• Positive Sentiment: Applied topped out at a new all‑time high as investors front‑run TSMC-driven equipment demand; KeyBanc says AMAT can push higher in 2026. Applied Materials Stock Just Hit a New All-Time High. Should You Buy AMAT Here?
• Positive Sentiment: Several sell‑side upgrades (Barclays, RBC, Stifel and others) have raised ratings/targets and highlighted AMAT’s exposure to AI capex and HBM growth, supporting upward price momentum. Applied Materials, AEI Industries, MKS in focus as KeyBanc ups targets
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgrade specifically cited AI‑driven fab spending as a catalyst, which helped spur intraday gains. Barclays upgrades Applied Materials (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT’s HBM (hybrid bonding) business hit $1.5B in FY25 and is positioned to double as memory/AI packaging ramps — a structural growth driver cited by analysts. Applied Materials FY25 HBM Revenues Hit $1.5B: A New Growth Driver?
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary offers trade ideas and allocation strategies (e.g., “drafting the titan”) that favor equipment vendors instead of chip designers — useful context but not a direct company update. Here Is A Smart Way To Invest In AMAT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: AMAT is due to report its next quarter soon; analysts expect a single‑digit EPS decrease, so near‑term guidance and orders will be watched closely for confirmation of the TSMC-driven rebound. Here’s What to Expect From Applied Materials’ Next Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and positioning risk: AMAT is trading near its 52‑week high with elevated multiples (PE/PEG), so any hiccup in order timing, customer pushouts or margin guidance could trigger a pullback. Here is What to Know Beyond Why Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) is a Trending Stock

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $282.25.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.5%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $327.01 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $259.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $261.40 and a 200 day moving average of $217.77. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $331.00.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.