Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by South Plains Financial Inc.

South Plains Financial Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 37.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,816 shares during the quarter. South Plains Financial Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,125,265,000 after purchasing an additional 391,540 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Applied Materials by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,552,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,160,443,000 after buying an additional 1,681,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,936,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,635,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,525 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $337.27 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $333.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.55. The firm has a market cap of $267.66 billion, a PE ratio of 34.52, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.65. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The business 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 company’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board-approved 15% quarterly dividend increase to $0.53 per share (payable June 11, 2026), marking the ninth consecutive year of raises and signaling strong free-cash-flow generation and shareholder-return commitment. Applied Materials Raises Quarterly Cash Dividend by 15 Percent
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term R&D partnerships announced with SK hynix and collaborations with Micron to accelerate next-gen DRAM/HBM for AI/HPC — strengthens AMAT’s addressable market in high-growth memory tooling. Applied Materials forges partnerships with Micron and SK Hynix for AI memory chips
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support and elevated price targets remain favorable (median targets well above current price, multiple recent buy/overweight calls), which can sustain upward momentum as analysts re-rate the AI/semi recovery. Goldman Sachs Raises Price Targets on 3 Tech Giants
• Neutral Sentiment: Takeover chatter linking AMAT (and Lam Research) to BE Semiconductor Industries (BESI) has lifted M&A speculation — potential strategic moves could be positive but remain unconfirmed and speculative. BE Semiconductor Industries (BESI) Stock Soars on Takeover Buzz From Lam Research and Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed institutional activity reported (large adds and large trims among major funds) — indicates divergent positioning among large investors rather than a clear directional shift. Applied Materials Board Approves 15% Increase in Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Broader chip-sector weakness tied to geopolitical/oil-risk shocks has pressured peer stocks (NVIDIA, Broadcom, Micron), which can transmit volatility to AMAT despite company-specific positives. Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron Fall as Oil Risk Sends Shockwaves Through Tech
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling activity over recent months and a high payout ratio (company has returned nearly 90% of free cash flow via dividends and buybacks) may raise governance/Capital-allocation concerns for some investors. Applied Materials Board Approves 15% Increase in Quarterly Cash Dividend

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group set a $430.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Summit Insights upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Applied Materials from $380.00 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 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

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.