Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Davis Investment Partners LLC

Davis Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 75.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,023 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,081 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $55,180,000 after acquiring an additional 17,397 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $635,057,000 after purchasing an additional 145,050 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 689,272 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,801,000 after purchasing an additional 17,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 82.2% during the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,512,000 after purchasing an additional 12,132 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $357.44 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $339.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $267.01. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $395.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $283.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied raised its quarterly dividend by 15%, marking a continuation of multi‑year dividend growth and signaling confidence in cash flow and the AI/memory tool cycle. This directly supports shareholder returns and boosts investor sentiment. Applied Materials Lifts Dividend As AI Investment And Cash Returns Converge
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying fundamentals remain supportive: recent quarterly beats and company guidance (Q2 FY26 EPS range) reinforce expectations that AMAT will benefit from AI-driven capital expenditure across logic and memory chipmakers. This is a core reason investors are bidding the stock higher. 3 Reasons Investors Watch Applied Materials (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: Sector peers (e.g., Lam Research) are reporting rising systems revenue and benefiting from the AI capex cycle; that peer strength supports the thesis that equipment suppliers like AMAT can sustain higher order activity into 2026. Can Lam Research’s Systems Business Sustain Growth Amid AI Capex Boom?
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer‑term tooling developments (ASML High‑NA EUV adoption by imec) underpin next‑generation chip roadmaps, which is positive for equipment demand but is a multi‑year story rather than an immediate catalyst for AMAT. Belgium’s imec secures rare ASML High NA EUV tool
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data for AMAT in mid‑March shows anomalous zero/NaN figures across filings, making it unreliable as a directional signal right now. Investors should treat those prints with caution. (internal reporting)
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market moves — including commodity swings and mixed reactions to semiconductor earnings (e.g., Micron) — add macro volatility that can blunt sector rallies even when company‑specific news is positive. Dow Jones Futures: Oil Backs Off $100; Micron Skids Despite Blowout Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT has run up substantially over recent months (large percentage gains), raising the risk of a near‑term pullback or profit‑taking; valuation metrics (higher P/E) mean the stock is more sensitive to any slowdown in capex or weaker guidance. 3 Reasons Investors Watch Applied Materials (AMAT)

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $430.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

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.