Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $67.58 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. increased its stake in Applied Materials (AMAT) by 7.3% in Q4 to 262,983 shares, worth about $67.58 million.
• Applied Materials beat Q4 EPS estimates ($2.38 vs. $2.21) on $7.01 billion in revenue, issued Q2 2026 EPS guidance of $2.44–$2.84, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12, ~0.5% yield).
• Analysts are generally bullish—several firms raised price targets (some to the mid-$400s) and the consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $368.29; insiders sold ~12,003 shares (~$4.48M) and institutional ownership stands at 80.56%.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 262,983 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 17,828 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $67,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 6.9% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $55,180,000 after purchasing an additional 17,397 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $635,057,000 after purchasing an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% in the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,801,000 after purchasing an additional 17,288 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 82.2% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 12,132 shares during the period. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,531,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $395.64 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $354.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $291.92. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $132.80 and a twelve month high of $407.29. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $313.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.64.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. The company'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. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm's 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 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 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Summit Insights raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $368.29.

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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