Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Sells 4,063 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI cut its stake in Applied Materials by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 4,063 shares and leaving it with 27,448 shares valued at about $7.05 million.
• Applied Materials reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while also raising Q3 2026 guidance. Management pointed to strong AI infrastructure spending as a key growth driver.
• Analysts remain bullish on AMAT, with several firms raising price targets and the stock currently carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share.

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,448 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 4,063 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,747,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $77,383,000 after buying an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on AMAT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $454.00 to $502.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, HSBC began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $517.00 price target on the stock. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $463.89.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.9%

Applied Materials stock opened at $436.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $346.51 billion, a PE ratio of 41.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.66. The company's 50-day moving average is $379.09 and its 200-day moving average is $319.44. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.47 and a fifty-two week high of $448.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 38.48%. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials posted record Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue expectations and lifting its outlook, with management citing strong AI infrastructure spending as a key growth driver. Applied Materials Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street turned more bullish after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Needham, and KeyCorp, reinforcing confidence in multi-year earnings growth. Applied Materials Sees Multi-Year AI Boom Driving Record Revenue And Growth Through 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts highlighted a durable AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, suggesting Applied Materials could sustain elevated demand and margins through 2027-2028. Krish Sankar Reaffirms Buy on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader market backdrop is weaker, with major indexes down as Treasury yields and oil prices rise, which is adding headwinds for high-valuation tech and AI stocks. Stock Market Today: Dow Falls As Oil Prices, Yields Jump; Applied Materials, Nvidia, Cerebras Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the strong earnings report, the stock is slipping as investors rotate out after a sharp year-to-date rally, showing some concern that expectations may already be very high. Applied Materials slips despite record quarter and strong outlook (AMAT)

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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