CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. Trims Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• CTC Alternative Strategies cut its stake in Applied Materials by 62.7% in the third quarter, selling 3,496 shares and leaving 2,084 shares valued at about $427,000.
• Applied Materials beat quarterly EPS ($2.38) and revenue ($7.01B), set Q2 2026 guidance of $2.44–$2.84, and multiple analysts raised price targets (average target ~$363.46).
• The company approved a 15% dividend increase to $0.53 quarterly (annualized $2.12, ex-dividend May 21), while insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares (~$4.48M) in the last quarter.

CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 62.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,084 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 3,496 shares during the quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its stake 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 last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Applied Materials by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $635,057,000 after buying an additional 145,050 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in Applied Materials by 13,360.6% in the 2nd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 694,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $127,129,000 after buying an additional 689,272 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in Applied Materials by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,801,000 after buying an additional 17,288 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its stake in Applied Materials by 82.2% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,512,000 after buying an additional 12,132 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. The trade was 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 worth $4,484,189 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $349.47 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $337.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $277.34 billion, a PE ratio of 35.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.65. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. The firm'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. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied approved a 15% increase in its quarterly dividend (now $0.53/share), extending nine consecutive years of dividend growth — a shareholder‑friendly move that signals management confidence in the AI/memory and logic tool cycle. Applied Materials Lifts Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Applied announced a collaboration with Synopsys and NVIDIA to speed quantum chemistry/materials simulations for semiconductor R&D (up to ~30x faster), which can shorten development cycles for advanced materials used in next‑gen chips — reinforcing AMAT’s software+equipment value proposition to chipmakers investing for AI. Applied Materials Ties Quantum Simulations
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple bullish writeups and portfolio moves (Seeking Alpha features, InvestorPlace thematic piece on AI bottlenecks, and coverage noting interest from investors like Ken Fisher) amplify positive sentiment that AMAT will benefit from increased capex in AI chips and memory. Applied Materials: The AI Gold Rush Everyone Is Missing
• Positive Sentiment: Industry news: Belgium’s imec secured a rare ASML High‑NA EUV tool to develop next‑gen chips. While this is an ASML story, it underscores accelerating investment in advanced node tooling and materials — a demand tailwind for semiconductor equipment suppliers like AMAT. Belgium's imec secures rare ASML High NA EUV tool
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat EPS and revenue estimates but showed slight year‑over‑year revenue decline; management set Q2 guidance of $2.44–$2.84. These keep the fundamental story intact but don’t eliminate cyclical risk. MarketBeat AMAT summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest notices in recent filings show 0 shares / 0 days-to-cover — likely a data or reporting anomaly rather than meaningful short activity; treat these figures with caution. (Data entries dated March 17–18.)
• Negative Sentiment: The stock has posted a very strong run (reported ~86% in six months), which raises the risk of near‑term profit taking and increases sensitivity to any execution/guidance disappointments or macro slowdowns given a relatively elevated P/E. 3 Reasons Investors Watch Applied Materials

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $363.46.

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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