Banco Santander S.A. Sells 10,451 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Banco Santander S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 85,626 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 10,451 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $17,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1,008.1% in the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,619,000 after purchasing an additional 32,893 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 6.9% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $55,180,000 after buying an additional 17,397 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 23.0% in the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after buying an additional 2,363 shares during the last quarter. Sienna Gestion lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% in the second quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 113,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,924,000 after buying an additional 10,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13,360.6% during the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 694,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $127,129,000 after acquiring an additional 689,272 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $375.72 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $314.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $395.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company has a market capitalization of $298.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 10,112 shares of company stock valued at $3,660,532 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. KGI Securities raised Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group set a $430.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Craig Hallum reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 outperformance and upgraded outlook drove conviction that demand for advanced-node and packaging tools remains strong — management beat estimates, gave solid Q2 guidance and highlighted 2nm/advanced‑packaging revenue drivers. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 5.3% After Strong Q1, Export Deal And 2nm Push
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: Morgan Stanley raised its price target (to $432) and other brokers have lifted targets and ratings recently, supporting upside expectations vs. the market run. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Industry positioning: Coverage notes AMAT is scaling up exposure to logic, DRAM/HBM and hybrid‑bonding/packaging tailwinds driven by AI, which supports multi‑year bookings and margins. AMAT Scales Up Logic, DRAM & Advanced Packaging
• Neutral Sentiment: SPIE presentation and fund commentary highlighted technical innovation and that AMAT outperformed some mutual‑fund portfolios, useful for medium‑term narrative but unlikely to move price alone. Applied Materials Presents at SPIE 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports this week show anomalous/zero and NaN values — the published figures look unreliable and shouldn’t be treated as a clear bearish signal without confirmation from official exchanges.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CAO Adam Sanders (and other insiders) disclosed share sales (~534 shares), which can weigh on near‑term sentiment even if routine. CAO Adam Sanders Form 4 TipRanks: Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Sector/peer weakness: Today’s pullback in several semiconductor-equipment and chip names is pressuring AMAT alongside profit‑taking after a large one‑year rally. MSN: Shares Falling — What You Need to Know

About Applied Materials

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.