ABC Arbitrage SA Invests $1.80 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• ABC Arbitrage SA disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Applied Materials, buying 7,007 shares valued at about $1.8 million.
• Applied Materials has seen continued bullish analyst support, including recent target increases from Cantor Fitzgerald, TD Cowen, and Susquehanna, with many analysts rating the stock a Buy or equivalent.
• The company is benefiting from AI and semiconductor demand, highlighted by a new partnership with TSMC, while it also recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46.

ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,007 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,801,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company'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 sale, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $378.66.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on Applied Materials from $500 to $550 and reiterated an overweight rating, signaling higher expectations for the stock ahead of earnings.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a new partnership with TSMC at its EPIC Center to accelerate AI-related semiconductor scaling, which could strengthen its long-term growth story and reinforce demand for its advanced manufacturing tools. Applied Materials and TSMC Partner at the EPIC Center to Accelerate AI Scaling
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and preview articles highlighted AI-driven demand, high-bandwidth memory traction, and advanced packaging momentum as supportive themes heading into Applied Materials’ Q2 earnings, suggesting investors are anticipating solid results. AMAT to Post Q2 Earnings: Time to Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock is also benefiting from a generally positive market backdrop, with equities and chip stocks firming ahead of key inflation data and earnings releases, including Applied Materials’ report. Inflation Readings, Cisco and AMAT Earnings, and More to Watch This Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports of a short-interest increase appear inconclusive because the reported short interest and change both show zero/NaN values, so this does not provide a meaningful bearish signal.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.9%

AMAT opened at $443.62 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.47 and a 52 week high of $448.45. The stock has a market cap of $352.06 billion, a PE ratio of 45.41, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $373.26 and a 200-day moving average of $314.18.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. 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.

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