3,349,048 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Bought by Coatue Management LLC

Key Points

• Coatue Management acquired 3,349,048 shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in Q3, valued at about $685.7 million, making AMAT its 22nd-largest holding and representing roughly 0.42% ownership of the company at quarter-end.
• Applied Materials boosted its quarterly dividend by 15% to $0.53 and will be added to the S&P 100 on March 23, while analysts remain broadly positive (consensus rating "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $363.46 and several firms raising targets).
• The company beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.38 vs. $2.21; revenue $7.01B vs. $6.88B), issued Q2 2026 EPS guidance of $2.44–$2.84, and trades with a market cap of about $271 billion and a PE near 35.

Coatue Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,349,048 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $685,684,000. Applied Materials comprises approximately 1.7% of Coatue Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Coatue Management LLC owned approximately 0.42% of Applied Materials at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% during the third quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 7.0% in the third quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 657 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.4% in the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board-approved 15% increase to the quarterly cash dividend (from $0.46 to $0.53), marking nine consecutive years of raises — signals strong free-cash-flow generation and makes the stock more attractive to income and dividend-growth investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Planned addition to the S&P 100 (effective March 23) — likely to create incremental buying from index-tracking funds ahead of the effective date. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: New/strengthened customer R&D partnerships focused on AI memory (long-term R&D tie-up with SK hynix and collaboration with Micron on memory) — supports durable equipment demand for next‑gen DRAM/HBM and AI accelerators. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broader market positioning toward semiconductors/AI: hedge funds and money managers are overweighting semiconductor-capital-equipment names (including AMAT) as AI capex remains a dominant 2026 trade theme. That institutional buying is supporting AMAT multiple and flows. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst attention and elevated price targets (median ~$415; multiple firms on “Buy/Overweight”) — helps underpin sentiment and provides buying interest on pullbacks. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Elevated retail and search interest reported by Zacks — signals attention but not directionally predictive by itself. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Takeover/industry M&A chatter (e.g., interest around BE Semiconductor Industries involving Lam and Applied) can boost sentiment but is speculative. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Macro risk: recent oil/ geopolitical-driven moves hit some chip names (Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron) — a spike in risk or higher energy prices can pressure tech cyclicals, including AMAT. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider sell activity and some institutional reallocations reported (large holders trimming in recent quarters) — could weigh on sentiment if selling persists. Article Title

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $341.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $271.04 billion, a PE ratio of 34.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $334.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $262.48. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 26,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Company 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.

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