Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 110,581 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its stake in Applied Materials by 35.5%, buying 110,581 shares to hold 422,183 shares worth about $108.5 million at quarter-end.
• Multiple analysts raised price targets (e.g., Barclays to $450, B. Riley to $485), leaving Applied Materials with an average MarketBeat rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.29.
• Applied Materials beat quarterly estimates with $2.38 EPS on $7.01 billion revenue, set Q2 guidance of $2.44–$2.84 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (from $0.46).

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 35.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 422,183 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 110,581 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.05% of Applied Materials worth $108,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 6,362 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $266,000. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,940 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 993 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seeds Investor LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Seeds Investor LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $368.29.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $396.94 on Monday. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $359.89 and its 200-day moving average is $295.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.02 billion, a PE ratio of 40.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same period last 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 anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 21.70%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AMAT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report).

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.