Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan Has $5.51 Million Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 82.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,132 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,125,265,000 after buying an additional 391,540 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 2.0% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 72.5% during 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 period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,936,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,635,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $1,604,002,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $273.00 to $364.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $385.00 price objective on the stock. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.15.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 6.1%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $322.51 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $288.07 and a 200-day moving average of $231.21. The stock has a market cap of $255.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $344.60. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given 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 is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target sharply to $400 (from $250) and reiterated a Buy ahead of earnings, signaling increased analyst confidence and likely supporting buying interest. Citi Jumps Applied Materials (AMAT) Target Ahead of Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Pre-earnings research (Zacks) expects AMAT to beat estimates, highlighting the company’s revenue/earnings mix as favorable — a potential short-term catalyst that can lift the stock on an upside surprise. Applied Materials (AMAT) Expected to Beat Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also flags AMAT as a strong momentum stock, which can attract momentum-driven flows into the shares ahead of a likely volatility event (earnings). Here’s Why Applied Materials (AMAT) is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: An earnings release and investor event are scheduled for Feb. 12; this is the immediate catalyst and will drive intraday moves depending on results and guidance. Applied Materials (AMAT) to Release Earnings on Thursday
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures appear to be a data glitch (showing 0 shares and NaN changes), so there’s no clear short-covering signal from that dataset at present.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage flagged a sharp pullback tied to export-control uncertainty despite robust AI-driven equipment demand — a reminder that geopolitical/export risks can quickly reverse sentiment if guidance or commentary raises red flags. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Down 11.6% After AI-Driven Equipment Demand Meets Export-Control Uncertainty

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.