Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Acquired by Hemenway Trust Co LLC

Key Points

• Hemenway Trust Co LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 45.9% in Q4 to 73,190 shares worth $18.8M, and institutional investors now own roughly 80.6% of AMAT.
• Applied Materials beat quarterly estimates (EPS $2.38 vs. $2.21) with $7.01B revenue, raised guidance, saw several analysts (including Morgan Stanley) lift targets, announced the acquisition of NEXX to expand advanced‑packaging/AI accelerator exposure, and hiked its quarterly dividend to $0.53.
• Insiders trimmed positions in the quarter — notably CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares and Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 — with insiders net selling 12,003 shares worth about $4.48M.

Hemenway Trust Co LLC grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 45.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,190 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 23,033 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 1.4% of Hemenway Trust Co LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Hemenway Trust Co LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $18,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.9% during the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $55,180,000 after purchasing an additional 17,397 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $635,057,000 after purchasing an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% during the third 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 period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $1,531,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $432.00 to $454.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research cut Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded Applied Materials to an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $370.86.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $454 and kept an "overweight" rating, signaling more upside from current levels and likely supporting buying interest. Morgan Stanley raises AMAT price target to $454 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials agreed to acquire NEXX (from ASMPT) to broaden its panel‑level advanced packaging tech — strengthens AMAT’s exposure to AI accelerator packaging, a high‑growth end market. Applied Materials Broadens Advanced Packaging Portfolio with Acquisition of NEXX (GlobeNewswire)
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and news pieces highlight AMAT’s strong history of earnings surprises and argue the company has the key ingredients to beat again — this raises the probability of another upside EPS surprise and helps near‑term sentiment. Will Applied Materials (AMAT) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report? (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector momentum: chip stocks rallied sharply in April, which benefits large equipment suppliers like AMAT via sentiment and multiple expansion — positive tailwind but indirect. Chip Stocks Soared 70%+ in April. Have They Gone Too Far? (247wallst)
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer earnings beats (Advanced Energy, Lattice Semiconductor) show AI/data‑center demand lifting equipment and component suppliers — supportive context but not company‑specific. Advanced Energy Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Another peer, Lattice, beat Q1 estimates; such results can validate demand trends AMAT operates in but don’t directly change AMAT fundamentals. Lattice Semiconductor Q1 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: An ACM Research article in your feed is company‑specific to ACMR (not AMAT) and discusses revenue growth vs. margin pressure — peripheral to AMAT but part of the broader equipment ecosystem newsflow. ACM Research to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock? (Yahoo)

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 5.0%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $410.82 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $151.51 and a fifty-two week high of $420.50. The stock has a market cap of $326.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $369.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $308.46. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS 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 return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business 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 is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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