Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Acquires 12,700 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 159,182 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,700 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $32,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company reached a civil settlement with the U.S. Dept. of Commerce and says DOJ and SEC closed related probes — the outcome removes legal uncertainty and lets management refocus on growth. Applied Materials Reaches Resolution with the U.S. Department of Commerce
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: RBC reiterated Outperform and other firms (B. Riley, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank) have raised ratings/targets, supporting upside expectations into earnings. Royal Bank Of Canada Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: B. Riley recently raised its AMAT price target to $400 (reaffirmed Buy), reflecting confidence in strong FY‑Q1 results and AI-driven demand. B. Riley Raises Applied Materials Price Target to $400
• Positive Sentiment: Applied unveiled new deposition/etch/ALD systems (Viva, Sym3 Z Magnum, Spectral) targeted at 2nm GAA logic — tools are being adopted by leading foundries and address AI compute demand. Applied Materials Unveils Transistor and Wiring Innovations for Faster AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Samsung will join Applied’s new $5B EPIC R&D center — a strategic partnership that strengthens customer ties and long-term equipment demand. Applied Materials Announces Samsung Electronics Will Join the New, Multibillion-Dollar EPIC Center
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings and demand backdrop: previews point to strong wafer‑fab and display strength driven by AI, but valuation is elevated after the recent rally ahead of Q1 results. Applied Materials Q1 Earnings Preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest notes are mixed/confusing in data feeds (recent reporting shows large changes and low days-to-cover); not a clear near-term driver. Quiver Quant Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Applied agreed to pay $252.5M to the Dept. of Commerce for alleged export non‑compliance (Nov 2020–Jul 2022) — a material one‑time charge that will hit cash/earnings for the period and raises questions about past compliance controls. Applied Materials to pay $252 million to resolve illegal chip exports, US says (Reuters)

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $339.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company has a market cap of $269.77 billion, a PE ratio of 39.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $292.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $344.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.