Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Purchased by CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC

Key Points

• CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 28% in Q3, buying 6,657 shares to own 30,458 shares valued at about $6.24 million, while institutional investors hold roughly 80.6% of the stock.
• Applied Materials announced a 15% dividend increase, raising the quarterly payout to $0.53 per share (annualized $2.12, ~0.6% yield), with the payment scheduled for June 11 and ex-dividend on May 21.
• Analysts remain largely positive: the consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $363.46, and several firms have raised targets (Goldman $390, RBC $430, KeyCorp $450).

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,458 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,657 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $363.46.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied announced a 15% increase to its quarterly dividend (to $0.53/share), with the next payment in June — a shareholder-friendly move that supports the stock after its strong run and signals confidence in cash flow. Applied Materials Raises Its Dividend 15%
• Positive Sentiment: Applied is listed in actively managed dividend and thematic ETFs that have seen large inflows, which can provide steady buying demand from fund flows. Active ETFs Surge Past Passive, and These Are in the Lead
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly review pieces position AMAT among semiconductor-equipment winners for the quarter — earnings beat and revenue roughly in line — but note mixed revenue trends across peers; these analyses help frame valuation expectations but don’t change near-term fundamentals. Winners And Losers Of Q4: Applied Materials NASDAQ: AMAT Vs The Rest Of The Semiconductor Manufacturing Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry coverage of peers (e.g., Lam Research) highlights strong AI-driven capex but raises questions about sustainability — this is a sector-level readthrough that could influence investor sentiment for AMAT over 2026. Can Lam Research's Systems Business Sustain Growth Amid AI Capex Boom?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short-interest notices for AMAT contain implausible/zero values (0 shares, NaN increases), indicating data reporting issues rather than a clear short-squeeze signal; treat short-interest readings with caution until corrected.
• Negative Sentiment: Macroeconomic volatility is weighing on market breadth: oil prices and U.S. Treasury yields spiking have helped push major indices below technical support, which typically pressures cyclicals and capex-exposed names like AMAT. Dow Jones Breaks As Oil Prices, Yields Soar, But Then Trump Mulls 'Winding Down' Iran War
• Negative Sentiment: Sector volatility shown by peers (e.g., Micron moving lower despite strong results) reflects investor caution in semiconductors — good company-specific news for AMAT may still be offset by risk-off flows. Dow Jones Futures: Oil Backs Off $100; Micron Skids Despite Blowout Earnings

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $357.06 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $395.95. The company has a market capitalization of $283.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $340.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $268.38. 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 (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 an increase 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 0.6%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

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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