Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Decreases Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Teachers Retirement System of the State of Kentucky cut its stake in Applied Materials by 21.5% in Q4, selling 36,180 shares and holding 131,770 shares worth $33,864,000 after the reduction.
• Company insiders have been selling: CAO Adam Sanders and Director Judy Bruner executed recent sales, with insiders selling 12,003 shares worth $4.48M in the quarter and now owning 0.30% of AMAT.
• Applied Materials beat EPS estimates (non‑GAAP $2.38 vs. $2.21) on $7.01B revenue, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53, and received multiple analyst price-target upgrades, underpinning a positive near-term outlook.

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,770 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 36,180 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $33,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the 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 owned 26,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.2%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $417.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $330.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.64. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $144.71 and a one year high of $420.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $366.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $301.68.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.29.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results and DRAM strength — Applied beat estimates (non-GAAP EPS $2.38 vs $2.21) and reported record DRAM revenue now ~34% of Semiconductor Systems revenue, supporting a stronger memory-driven growth outlook. Philippe Laffont's Coatue Is Betting Billions on These 3 AI Stocks. Here's Why Smart Money Sees AI Dominance
• Positive Sentiment: Tesla terafab participation — Applied joined Tesla’s Terafab project, a potential validation of AMAT’s equipment roadmap and a source of future equipment orders if Tesla scales fabs. Applied Materials Just Joined the Tesla Terafab Project. Does That Make AMAT Stock a Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile bullish endorsements — Jim Cramer publicly called AMAT “a great buy,” and buy-side interest (e.g., Coatue) draws retail and institutional attention that can support momentum. Jim Cramer on Applied Materials: “It’s Not a Good Buy, It’s a Great Buy”
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street and sector tailwinds — Analysts and industry write-ups expect double-digit EPS growth next quarter and highlight semiconductor/AI-driven demand (especially for memory/DRAM), which benefits AMAT’s equipment backlog and margin outlook. What to Expect From Applied Materials' Q2 2026 Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Industry buy lists and thematic coverage — AMAT appears on semiconductor/AI-themed buy lists (Zacks, industry commentaries) as investors favor companies exposed to AI, ML and memory demand. 3 Stocks to Buy From the Prospering Semiconductor Industry
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings date set — Applied will report fiscal Q2 2026 results on May 14; the event is a clear near-term catalyst but outcome/tone will determine direction. Applied Materials to Report Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Results on May 14, 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Speculative upside narratives — Coverage arguing AMAT could be a trillion-dollar company candidate is bullish headline-grabbing speculation but depends on sustained margin and end-market expansion. Applied Materials (AMAT): Analyzing the Next Stock to Breach the Trillion Dollar Barrier
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data anomaly — a report shows a “large increase” but lists zero shares and NaN changes; likely a data glitch rather than actionable short-squeeze signal. (source: short interest report)
• Neutral Sentiment: Misc. buy/sell write-ups — Multiple “is AMAT a buy?” pieces and commentaries summarize bull cases; they reinforce investor interest but add no new company-specific catalysts. Is Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) A Good Stock To Buy Now?

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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