Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $15.63 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,362 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 23,303 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $15,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in Applied Materials by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 159,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $32,591,000 after purchasing an additional 12,700 shares during the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc CT grew its position in Applied Materials by 9.5% during the third quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc CT now owns 399,239 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $81,740,000 after buying an additional 34,722 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 10.1% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 380,494 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,902,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $494,000. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.0% in the 3rd quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 4,477 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $328.46 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $260.71 billion, a PE ratio of 37.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $344.60. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $293.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $235.24.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. 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 valued at $2,044,898. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings and revenue beat — AMAT reported $2.38 EPS and $7.01B revenue, topping consensus and demonstrating healthy margins and profitability that underpin investor confidence. Applied Materials (AMAT) Beats Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Strong forward guidance — management set Q2 FY2026 EPS guidance (2.440–2.840) and revenue targets above Street expectations, signaling continued demand for semiconductor equipment driven by AI processors. This guidance is the key driver of the after‑hours rally. Applied Materials forecasts second-quarter sales above estimates
• Positive Sentiment: AI and industry positioning — analysts and commentary point to accelerating AI/HPC capex (DRAM, advanced logic, packaging) and recurring service revenue as structural growth drivers; several firms have raised targets and reiterated Buy ratings ahead of the print. How to Read Applied Materials Earnings: What Signals Move the Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic partnerships — Samsung agreed to join AMAT’s new $5B EPIC R&D center, reinforcing customer relationships and R&D scale that support long-term demand and product leadership. Applied Materials Announces Samsung Electronics Will Join the New, Multibillion-Dollar EPIC Center
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory closure reduces uncertainty — the DOJ and SEC have closed related investigations without action, which removes a material legal overhang and clarifies near-term risk. That reduced uncertainty likely helped investor reaction even though a settlement was paid. Applied Materials Announces First Quarter 2026 Results
• Negative Sentiment: $252.5M export settlement — AMAT agreed to pay $252.5M to the U.S. Department of Commerce to resolve alleged export-control violations for certain shipments to China (Nov 2020–Jul 2022). The payment is a one‑time hit and raises compliance/controls questions, though management frames the resolution as in shareholders’ best interest. Applied Materials to pay $252 million to resolve illegal chip exports, US says

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Susquehanna upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, January 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, January 12th. Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $385.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.15.

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.