Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,574,814 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,484 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $322,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1,008.1% during the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,619,000 after purchasing an additional 32,893 shares in the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.9% during the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $55,180,000 after purchasing an additional 17,397 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion grew its position in Applied Materials by 10.2% during the second quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 113,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $18,924,000 after buying an additional 10,468 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 145,277 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,601,000 after buying an additional 35,012 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related 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 transaction 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target lift — a recent analyst move raised AMAT’s price target by ~17%, signaling renewed analyst confidence in the company’s medium-term outlook and providing a bullish anchor for investors. Applied Materials (AMAT) price target increased by 17.14% to 329.63
• Positive Sentiment: Street expects Q1 upside — Morgan Stanley published a note expecting Applied to surpass Q1 estimates, reinforcing a near-term earnings beat narrative that can support the stock if results meet or beat. Morgan Stanley expects Applied Materials to surpass Q1 estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Earnings-beat history and growth profile — analysts and Zacks highlight AMAT’s history of beating estimates and its strong growth characteristics, which supports investor expectations for continued outperformance into upcoming reports. Will Applied Materials (AMAT) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/positioning debate — commentary asks whether AMAT is “too late” after a large one‑year gain; these pieces frame investor debate over valuation and rotation rather than providing a clear catalyst. Is It Too Late To Consider Applied Materials (AMAT) After Its 80% One Year Surge?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data appears unreliable — an item flagged a large increase in short interest but reported 0 shares (data anomaly); this is not a clear driver given the suspect numbers and should be treated cautiously.
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy intraday selling despite positive developments — reports note a sharp intraday plunge (midday selling) even though the company had favorable items in its favor; that suggests profit-taking, headline-driven flows or rotation out of chip-capex names pressured the stock. Applied Materials Stock (AMAT) Plunges despite Hopes for a ‘More Constructive Direction’
• Negative Sentiment: Underperforming the broader market on the day — market commentary explains AMAT fell more than the broader indices, consistent with sector rotation and headline-driven volatility that can accelerate declines during high-volume selling days. Here’s Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Fell More Than Broader Market

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $275.00 to $390.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $285.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Mizuho set a $370.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. B. Riley reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, January 12th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $311.04.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $297.60 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $344.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $285.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.79. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $236.21 billion, a PE ratio of 34.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. The firm’s 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

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.