Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Sells 2,789 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Asset Management One Co. Ltd. trimmed its AMAT stake by 0.8% in Q4, selling 2,789 shares and leaving it with 342,363 shares worth $90,024,000.
• Applied Materials launched new tools for 2nm AI/HPC chips and saw multiple analyst price‑target upgrades (consensus "Moderate Buy", avg target $368.29), though revenue was down about 2.1% YoY despite an EPS beat and raised guidance; the company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.53.
• Insiders have been selling recently — Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares and the CAO sold 534, with insiders offloading a total of 12,003 shares worth ~$4.48M last quarter (insiders now own 0.30% of the stock).

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 342,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 2,789 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $90,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $396.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $359.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.65. The company has a market capitalization of $315.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.63, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.80 and a 1-year high of $407.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.Applied Materials's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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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