APG Asset Management N.V. Has $99.59 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

APG Asset Management N.V. cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 486,400 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $99,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $1,604,002,000. Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,409,320,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1,704.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,439,598 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $499,483,000 after purchasing an additional 2,304,369 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 417.3% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,732,015 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $317,053,000 after buying an additional 1,397,217 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,612 shares of company stock worth $4,639,807 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade pushed the stock higher intraday — a broker upgrade cited improved fundamentals/visibility and sent shares up before broader market weakness set in. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 4.5% Higher After Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a bullish view with forecasts for strong price appreciation, reinforcing investor confidence that equipment makers like AMAT will benefit from sustained AI and memory capex. Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Industry research highlights that AI spending is shifting value to semiconductor equipment suppliers — a structural tailwind for AMAT as fabs invest in logic, DRAM, HBM and advanced packaging. The AI spending boom is creating winners beyond the ‘Mag 7.’ Why one sector could see big gains.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary (Zacks) notes AMAT is scaling up exposure to logic, DRAM and advanced packaging (GAA, hybrid bonding, HBM), which supports multi‑year revenue growth assumptions. AMAT Scales Up Logic, DRAM & Advanced Packaging: What’s Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor Q: “Is it too late?” coverage and articles looking at valuation after a big one‑year run can increase profit‑taking; these pieces examine multiples and momentum without new company fundamentals. Is It Too Late To Consider Applied Materials (AMAT) After A 130% One Year Surge?
• Neutral Sentiment: Questions about outperforming benchmarks—coverage comparing AMAT to the S&P 500—are framing some investors’ benchmark/rebalancing decisions rather than signaling near‑term fundamental change. Is Applied Materials Stock Outperforming the S&P 500?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest entries for late Feb look erroneous/incomplete (zeros/NaN); investors should treat those figures cautiously and watch for corrected filings. (Data reported 2/25–2/26)
• Negative Sentiment: Sector sell‑off after Nvidia’s earnings created downward pressure—concerns about the sustainability of AI capex flow prompted a pullback in AMAT despite recent strength. A Look At Applied Materials (AMAT) Valuation After Sector Sell Off On AI Spending Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: News items grouping AMAT with other semiconductor names that are falling amplify momentum selling and may trigger short‑term downside as traders reduce exposure. Applied Materials, Broadcom, Lam Research, Western Digital, and Allegro MicroSystems shares are falling, what you need to know

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $372.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The company has a 50-day moving average of $317.30 and a 200-day moving average of $249.95. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $395.95. The company has a market capitalization of $295.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.11, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.46 dividend. 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 18.83%.

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.