Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Bought by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 82,465 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,048 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 target price for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $294.75.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages raised price targets and reiterated overweight/buy views — KeyBanc bumped its target to $380 citing DRAM-driven capacity growth and vertical scaling potential; Needham raised its target to $390. KeyBanc Raises Applied Materials (AMAT) Target to $380, Keeps Overweight Rating Needham & Company LLC Increases Applied Materials Price Target to $390.00
• Positive Sentiment: Shares reached an all‑time high intraday, reflecting strong momentum and demand for semiconductor equipment exposure. Applied Materials stock hits all-time high at $332.31 USD
• Positive Sentiment: Applied’s display segment is rebounding: Zacks notes Q4 display revenue jumped ~68% with stronger OLED and advanced systems demand — a potential multi‑year growth driver beyond chips. Can AMAT Lead the Display Market With Advanced OLED and AR/VR Push?
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 2026 earnings call set for Feb. 12 — investors will focus on revenue guidance, memory demand trends, and China exposure. Applied Materials fiscal Q1 2026 earnings conference call details (company IR)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is broad and bullish overall (many Buy/Overweight ratings and a wide range of targets); median target noted in some aggregation is lower than the newest highs, highlighting dispersion in expectations. Applied Materials announces earnings call (QuiverQuant summary)
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation scrutiny after the rally — several write‑ups flag that shares have run up strongly and investors should reassess forward multiples and upside. Applied Materials (AMAT) Valuation Check After Strong Recent Share Price Gains
• Negative Sentiment: China exposure and recent revenue softness remain a risk: AMAT’s revenue was down ~3.5% YoY in the last quarter, and some industry comparisons note China‑facing headwinds that could limit near‑term upside. Which Semiconductor Equipment Stock Has More Upside in 2026? (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: At least one retail‑oriented column argues there’s a reason to sell vs. rotate into an alternative, highlighting the risk of buying late in a strong run. 1 Reason to Sell AMAT and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.2%

AMAT stock opened at $322.47 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $333.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $270.76 and its 200 day moving average is $222.58. The firm has a market cap of $255.70 billion, a PE ratio of 37.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. 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, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Company 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.