Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Position Raised by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 346.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,769 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,178 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $10,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% in the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% in the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% in the third quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 3,359 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, January 9th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $285.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $298.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho upgraded AMAT to “Outperform” and raised its price target to $370 (from $275), citing a “significant acceleration” in wafer fab equipment demand — a direct near-term catalyst for order momentum and revenue visibility. AMAT stock: Mizuho sees ‘significant acceleration’ in WFE, upgrades rating
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc bumped its price target to $380 and Goldman Sachs lists AMAT among top semiconductor picks — reinforcing conviction across the sell side that Applied will benefit from rising deposition/etch intensity and diversified exposure across fabs. Applied Materials (AMAT) Gains Analyst Support as Multi-Year Semiconductor Tailwinds Take Shape
• Positive Sentiment: High-profile bullish commentary (Jim Cramer) is amplifying demand narratives — Cramer called AMAT a name with a shortage that “can’t be met,” which can drive retail/inflow interest and shorter-term multiple expansion. Applied Materials (AMAT) Has a Shortage That Can’t Be Met, Says Jim Cramer
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst pieces frame AMAT as a likely industry leader in 2026 (expectations of durable demand and margin leverage). That consensus bullishness supports higher forward multiples and investor appetite for shares. Analysts Expect Applied Materials Stock to Dominate in 2026. Should You Buy Shares Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces note AMAT is rising while the broader market dips — useful context for relative strength but not a company-specific fundamental change. Applied Materials (AMAT) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest figures in the feed appear to be erroneous/zeroed — no actionable signal from the published short-interest item (treat as data noise until an official update).

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $341.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $344.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $279.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.16. The company has a market capitalization of $270.66 billion, a PE ratio of 39.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

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.