Independent Advisor Alliance Has $5.46 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,646 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,604,002,000. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,409,320,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased 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 purchasing an additional 5,700,349 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1,704.0% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,439,598 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $499,483,000 after purchasing an additional 2,304,369 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 417.3% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,732,015 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $317,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397,217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Susquehanna upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.14.

Applied Materials Stock Down 5.6%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $322.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $255.83 billion, a PE ratio of 37.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $281.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $227.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $344.60.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials 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 sale, the chief accounting officer 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho upgraded AMAT to Outperform and raised its price target to $370, citing accelerating WFE (wafer fab equipment) spending as a multi‑year tailwind. Mizuho Upgrades Applied Materials (AMAT) to Outperform on Global WFE Tailwinds
• Positive Sentiment: Key analysts (including KeyBanc and others cited across outlets) have raised price targets (KeyBanc to $380) and highlighted AMAT’s diversified position in deposition/etch and benefits from increased chip manufacturing intensity. Mizuho upgrades Applied Materials to Outperform as WFE spending accelerates
• Positive Sentiment: Several buy‑side pieces (Seeking Alpha, analyst blogs) call AMAT an attractive buy into the upcoming Q1 report, pointing to semiconductor momentum and durable multi‑year tailwinds. Applied Materials: Attractive Buy Ahead Of The Q1 2026 Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity shows large institutional/speculative positioning (“whales”), which can amplify moves in either direction but doesn’t guarantee fundamental change. Traders should watch open interest and expiries. This Is What Whales Are Betting On Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry discussion is underway about AMAT’s ability to challenge ASML at the high end — a long‑term strategic theme that could support upside but is uncertain and execution‑dependent. Can AMAT Break ASML’s Monopoly?
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks highlights rising trade and cost pressures that could offset semiconductor momentum — a nearer‑term risk to margins and guidance that may be pressuring the stock today. Applied Materials leads Zacks’ latest Analyst Blog
• Negative Sentiment: Technical/valuation factors: AMAT has run sharply higher over the past year and now trades at an elevated multiple (PE and PEG above historical norms). Higher trading volume on the pullback suggests profit‑taking and short‑term selling pressure. (Background market data.)

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.