Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. Buys Shares of 4,407 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. bought a new stake of 4,407 shares (~$1.13M) in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter, per its Form 13F filing.
• Applied Materials beat quarterly estimates with $2.38 EPS (vs. $2.21 consensus) and $7.01B revenue, provided Q2 2026 EPS guidance of 2.440–2.840, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12; 0.5% yield).
• Institutional ownership stands at ~80.56%, with major funds (e.g., Capital Research, UBS, Ameriprise) materially increasing positions and new large stakes reported, signaling strong institutional accumulation.

Pekao Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,407 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,133,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,046,057,000 after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 617.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Coatue Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $685,684,000. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,247,838,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,730 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.8%

Applied Materials stock opened at $396.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $315.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.63, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.80 and a fifty-two week high of $407.29. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $359.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for 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%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: New tools for next‑gen chips: AMAT unveiled the Precision Selective Nitride PECVD and Trillium ALD systems aimed at 2nm AI and HPC chips — this strengthens its content per chip and positions it to capture AI/HPC node transitions. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Potential large customer for fabs: Bloomberg/press reports say Elon Musk’s Terafab team has contacted AMAT (among others) for equipment quotes — if that project proceeds it could add meaningful new demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: B. Riley raised its price target on AMAT to $485 (Buy), reflecting a multi‑year AI-related outlook upgrade that supports higher valuations. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive industry signals: peers TSMC and (expected) Lam Research results point to strong AI/HPC and DRAM spending, which is supportive for AMAT as an equipment supplier. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Momentum & coverage: multiple Zacks pieces note heavy investor interest and recent strong short‑term performance (momentum), which can amplify moves but may also lead to volatile reversals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and valuation pressure: relative comparisons (NVDA vs AMAT) and broader peer valuations (ASML/US peers) highlight that investors may prefer higher‑growth alternatives like NVIDIA, which could limit further multiple expansion for AMAT. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term softness in revenue: most recent quarter showed slight year‑over‑year revenue decline (about -2.1%), so while earnings beat and guidance were constructive, demand remains lumpy and could lead to volatility if orders don’t accelerate.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $368.29.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.