Sirios Capital Management L P purchased a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 83,064 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,007,000. Applied Materials accounts for 2.2% of Sirios Capital Management L P's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position.
A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Applied Materials Trading Up 1.3%
AMAT stock opened at $341.53 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $334.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $261.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $395.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $271.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.65.
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. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Applied Materials Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.
Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Board-approved 15% increase to the quarterly cash dividend (from $0.46 to $0.53), marking nine consecutive years of raises — signals strong free-cash-flow generation and makes the stock more attractive to income and dividend-growth investors. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Planned addition to the S&P 100 (effective March 23) — likely to create incremental buying from index-tracking funds ahead of the effective date. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: New/strengthened customer R&D partnerships focused on AI memory (long-term R&D tie-up with SK hynix and collaboration with Micron on memory) — supports durable equipment demand for next‑gen DRAM/HBM and AI accelerators. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Broader market positioning toward semiconductors/AI: hedge funds and money managers are overweighting semiconductor-capital-equipment names (including AMAT) as AI capex remains a dominant 2026 trade theme. That institutional buying is supporting AMAT multiple and flows. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst attention and elevated price targets (median ~$415; multiple firms on “Buy/Overweight”) — helps underpin sentiment and provides buying interest on pullbacks. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Elevated retail and search interest reported by Zacks — signals attention but not directionally predictive by itself. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Takeover/industry M&A chatter (e.g., interest around BE Semiconductor Industries involving Lam and Applied) can boost sentiment but is speculative. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Macro risk: recent oil/ geopolitical-driven moves hit some chip names (Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron) — a spike in risk or higher energy prices can pressure tech cyclicals, including AMAT. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Notable insider sell activity and some institutional reallocations reported (large holders trimming in recent quarters) — could weigh on sentiment if selling persists. Article Title
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. UBS Group set a $430.00 target price on shares of 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 report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $363.46.
View Our Latest Research Report on Applied Materials
Applied Materials Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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