3,562 Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Acquired by Q3 Asset Management

Key Points

• Q3 Asset Management opened a new position in Applied Materials by buying 3,562 shares in Q4, valued at roughly $915,000.
• Several large institutions materially increased stakes—e.g., Capital Research up ~225% to ~14.88M shares and UBS added ~7.86M shares—bringing institutional ownership to about 80.6%, while insiders have trimmed holdings (12,003 shares sold in the last three months).
• Analysts are bullish with multiple price‑target raises (Goldman $390, Stifel $450, B. Riley $485) and an average MarketBeat target of $368.29; AMAT beat Q1 EPS/revenue, set Q2 guidance of 2.44–2.84 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53.

Q3 Asset Management bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 3,562 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $915,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 225.4% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,247,838,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,730 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,552,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,160,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price target on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research 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, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $368.29.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $396.94 on Monday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $359.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $295.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.80 and a 1-year high of $407.29. The stock has a market cap of $315.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.64.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.70%.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: New tools for next‑gen chips: AMAT unveiled the Precision Selective Nitride PECVD and Trillium ALD systems aimed at 2nm AI and HPC chips — this strengthens its content per chip and positions it to capture AI/HPC node transitions. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Potential large customer for fabs: Bloomberg/press reports say Elon Musk’s Terafab team has contacted AMAT (among others) for equipment quotes — if that project proceeds it could add meaningful new demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: B. Riley raised its price target on AMAT to $485 (Buy), reflecting a multi‑year AI-related outlook upgrade that supports higher valuations. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive industry signals: peers TSMC and (expected) Lam Research results point to strong AI/HPC and DRAM spending, which is supportive for AMAT as an equipment supplier. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Momentum & coverage: multiple Zacks pieces note heavy investor interest and recent strong short‑term performance (momentum), which can amplify moves but may also lead to volatile reversals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and valuation pressure: relative comparisons (NVDA vs AMAT) and broader peer valuations (ASML/US peers) highlight that investors may prefer higher‑growth alternatives like NVIDIA, which could limit further multiple expansion for AMAT. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term softness in revenue: most recent quarter showed slight year‑over‑year revenue decline (about -2.1%), so while earnings beat and guidance were constructive, demand remains lumpy and could lead to volatility if orders don’t accelerate.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by 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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