M&T Bank Corp Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp cut its stake in Applied Materials by 95.4% in Q4, selling 270,761 shares and leaving it with 13,102 shares worth about $3.37 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is largely bullish with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” (27 Buys, 6 Holds, 1 Strong Buy) and a consensus target of $368.29, while several firms raised price targets up to about $470.
• Applied beat Q4 estimates (EPS $2.38 vs $2.21; revenue $7.01B vs $6.88B), guided Q2 EPS to 2.440–2.840, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12, ~0.5% yield).

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 95.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 270,761 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 17,397 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $635,057,000 after buying an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in Applied Materials by 21.8% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $19,801,000 after buying an additional 17,288 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan grew its stake in Applied Materials by 82.2% during the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,512,000 after buying an additional 12,132 shares during the period. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $368.29.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Advantest joined Applied’s EPIC platform and opened an Innovation Center on Applied’s Silicon Valley R&D campus—this tightens front‑end process engineering with back‑end test capabilities, which could accelerate commercialization of complex AI and HPC chips and strengthen Applied’s competitive ecosystem over time. Is Advantest’s EPIC Tie-Up Reshaping the Long-Term Investment Case for Applied Materials (AMAT)?
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group upgraded AMAT from “hold” to “buy,” a near‑term bullish catalyst that can support sentiment and attract buyers at pullbacks. Erste Group upgrade (Finviz)
• Neutral Sentiment: ETF reconstitution commentary notes Applied’s strong free‑cash‑flow profile could keep it visible to thematic/FCF‑focused ETFs—possible gradual inflows but not an immediate driver of today’s move. Metal, Chips, & Cash: Q1 ‘26 Additions to VictoryShares GFLW
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketWatch flags AMAT’s underperformance versus competitors on the day—useful context on relative strength but not a standalone structural change. Applied Materials Inc. stock underperforms Monday when compared to competitors
• Negative Sentiment: News pieces and headlines point to profit‑taking after a strong run and broader tech weakness as the proximate cause of today’s decline—investors appear to be trimming positions despite solid recent earnings. Why Applied Materials (AMAT) shares are falling today
• Negative Sentiment: Market coverage (Zacks/Yahoo) reiterates the same intraday dip narrative—confirming the move is market‑driven rather than due to new company‑specific bad news. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Dips While Market Gains: Key Facts

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $404.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $321.30 billion, a PE ratio of 41.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $367.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.71 and a twelve month high of $420.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company's 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 directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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