DNB Asset Management AS Purchases 1,971 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

DNB Asset Management AS raised its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 186,013 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,971 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $38,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,125,265,000 after acquiring an additional 391,540 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,836,807,000 after buying an additional 407,282 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position 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 worth $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 1,075,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $1,604,002,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AMAT. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 10,112 shares of company stock worth $3,660,532 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.9%

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

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

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.