Seek First Inc. Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Seek First Inc. purchased a new position of 3,343 shares in Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) valued at about $859,000, representing roughly 0.6% of its portfolio and its 29th largest holding.
• Applied Materials beat expectations with $2.38 EPS vs. $2.21 expected and $7.01B revenue vs. $6.88B, issued Q2 guidance of $2.44–$2.84 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12).
• Institutional investors are heavily involved—major funds like Capital Research, UBS AM, Ameriprise and Coatue added large stakes or new positions, with institutions owning about 80.56% of the stock; analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with targets reaching up to ~$450.

Seek First Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,343 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $859,000. Applied Materials accounts for about 0.6% of Seek First Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

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

Applied Materials Price Performance

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

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 EPS 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Key Headlines Impacting 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, creating a closer front-end to back-end ecosystem that could speed commercialization of AI and high-performance compute chips and support long-term equipment demand. 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," which can support near-term sentiment and attract buyer interest from funds tracking analyst actions. Applied Materials Inc. buy Erste Group Bank AG
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry/ETF reconstitution notes (VictoryShares GFLW) highlighted free‑cash‑flow leaders; these index moves can alter passive flows into or out of AMAT but are not an immediate company fundamentals change. Metal, Chips, & Cash: Q1 ‘26 Additions to VictoryShares GFLW
• Negative Sentiment: Rising US–China geopolitical tension around AI technology was cited as a driver of intraday selling; export/security concerns raise the risk of slowing demand or hampering cross‑border sales for semiconductor capital equipment vendors. Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Shares Are Falling Today
• Negative Sentiment: Reports note AMAT underperformed peers and the broader market on the latest session, reflecting profit‑taking or sector rotation despite the company’s solid recent earnings and guidance. Continued relative weakness can pressure short‑term momentum. Applied Materials Inc. stock underperforms Monday when compared to competitors

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% 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 valued at $4,484,189 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Summit Insights raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

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