Stevens Capital Management LP Purchases New Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Applied Materials (AMAT) of 3,292 shares (~$846,000) in Q4; institutional investors own 80.56% of the stock while insiders sold 12,003 shares (~$4.48M) in the last three months and now hold 0.30%.
• Applied Materials agreed to acquire NEXX to broaden its panel‑level advanced packaging capabilities and exposure to AI accelerator packaging, and several analysts (Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Barclays) have raised price targets, supporting a consensus Moderate Buy view.
• The company beat Q1 EPS and revenue estimates, set Q2 2026 EPS guidance of $2.44–$2.84, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12).

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,292 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $846,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,765,950 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $475,039,000 after purchasing an additional 70,804 shares during the last quarter. Providence First Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $867,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 107,985 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $27,751,000 after buying an additional 1,552 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 114.6% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 500 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 260.0% during the 4th quarter. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd now owns 180 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $454 and kept an "overweight" rating, signaling more upside from current levels and likely supporting buying interest. Morgan Stanley raises AMAT price target to $454 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials agreed to acquire NEXX (from ASMPT) to broaden its panel‑level advanced packaging tech — strengthens AMAT’s exposure to AI accelerator packaging, a high‑growth end market. Applied Materials Broadens Advanced Packaging Portfolio with Acquisition of NEXX (GlobeNewswire)
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and news pieces highlight AMAT’s strong history of earnings surprises and argue the company has the key ingredients to beat again — this raises the probability of another upside EPS surprise and helps near‑term sentiment. Will Applied Materials (AMAT) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report? (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector momentum: chip stocks rallied sharply in April, which benefits large equipment suppliers like AMAT via sentiment and multiple expansion — positive tailwind but indirect. Chip Stocks Soared 70%+ in April. Have They Gone Too Far? (247wallst)
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer earnings beats (Advanced Energy, Lattice Semiconductor) show AI/data‑center demand lifting equipment and component suppliers — supportive context but not company‑specific. Advanced Energy Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Another peer, Lattice, beat Q1 estimates; such results can validate demand trends AMAT operates in but don’t directly change AMAT fundamentals. Lattice Semiconductor Q1 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: An ACM Research article in your feed is company‑specific to ACMR (not AMAT) and discusses revenue growth vs. margin pressure — peripheral to AMAT but part of the broader equipment ecosystem newsflow. ACM Research to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock? (Yahoo)

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $370.86.

Applied Materials Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $410.82 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $151.51 and a 1 year high of $420.50. The firm's 50-day moving average is $369.34 and its 200-day moving average is $308.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $326.03 billion, a PE ratio of 42.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.14 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

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.

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.