Johnson Financial Group Inc. Buys 8,625 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Johnson Financial Group increased its stake in Applied Materials by 156.7%, acquiring 8,625 shares to hold 14,130 shares valued at $2.893 million at quarter-end.
• Several large institutions also added to positions—most notably Capital Research (added 10,305,182 shares, +225.4%)—leaving institutional ownership at about 80.56%.
• Company fundamentals and sentiment remain favorable: Applied Materials beat quarterly EPS and revenue, set Q2 2026 EPS guidance of $2.44–$2.84, the board approved a 15% quarterly dividend increase to $0.53, and partnerships with SK hynix and Micron plus analyst upgrades support upside (average price target ~$363.46).

Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 156.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,130 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,625 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $7,125,265,000 after buying an additional 391,540 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Applied Materials by 225.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,046,057,000 after buying an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 19.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,552,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,160,443,000 after acquiring an additional 1,681,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,936,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,635,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,525 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board-approved 15% quarterly dividend increase to $0.53 per share (payable June 11, 2026), marking the ninth consecutive year of raises and signaling strong free-cash-flow generation and shareholder-return commitment. Applied Materials Raises Quarterly Cash Dividend by 15 Percent
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term R&D partnerships announced with SK hynix and collaborations with Micron to accelerate next-gen DRAM/HBM for AI/HPC — strengthens AMAT’s addressable market in high-growth memory tooling. Applied Materials forges partnerships with Micron and SK Hynix for AI memory chips
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support and elevated price targets remain favorable (median targets well above current price, multiple recent buy/overweight calls), which can sustain upward momentum as analysts re-rate the AI/semi recovery. Goldman Sachs Raises Price Targets on 3 Tech Giants
• Neutral Sentiment: Takeover chatter linking AMAT (and Lam Research) to BE Semiconductor Industries (BESI) has lifted M&A speculation — potential strategic moves could be positive but remain unconfirmed and speculative. BE Semiconductor Industries (BESI) Stock Soars on Takeover Buzz From Lam Research and Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed institutional activity reported (large adds and large trims among major funds) — indicates divergent positioning among large investors rather than a clear directional shift. Applied Materials Board Approves 15% Increase in Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Broader chip-sector weakness tied to geopolitical/oil-risk shocks has pressured peer stocks (NVIDIA, Broadcom, Micron), which can transmit volatility to AMAT despite company-specific positives. Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron Fall as Oil Risk Sends Shockwaves Through Tech
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling activity over recent months and a high payout ratio (company has returned nearly 90% of free cash flow via dividends and buybacks) may raise governance/Capital-allocation concerns for some investors. Applied Materials Board Approves 15% Increase in Quarterly Cash Dividend

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. B. Riley Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $337.27 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 current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $267.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.52, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $333.03 and a 200-day moving average of $260.55.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Applied Materials

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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