Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,251 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,296 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.15.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied launched new deposition, etch and materials systems (Viva™, Sym3™ Z Magnum™, Spectral™ ALD) aimed at improving 2nm GAA transistor performance; tools are already being adopted by leading foundries, which supports revenue upside from AI-driven logic demand. Applied Materials Unveils Transistor and Wiring Innovations for Faster AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish: recent upgrades/reiterates and higher price targets (e.g., RBC $385, UBS lift, Morgan Stanley overweight) reinforce upside expectations and likely support buying interest. UBS Lifts Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Target, Reiterates Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical setup improved after AMAT crossed above the 20‑day moving average, a short-term bullish sign that can attract momentum traders. AMAT Crossed Above the 20-Day Moving Average
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and Barchart previews expect AI-driven demand to support AMAT even as revenues/EPS may be down year-over-year in Q1 — this keeps sentiment mixed: long-term thesis remains intact but near-term prints could disappoint. Applied Materials Q1 Earnings Preview
• Positive Sentiment: Shares have climbed recently (monthly gains noted by coverage), reflecting investor appetite for AMAT’s exposure to wafer fab tools, advanced packaging and AI-related capex. AMAT Climbs 8% in a Month
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales have been reported (several recent open‑market sales), which can weigh on sentiment for short windows even if not uncommon at large caps. Applied Materials Launches Advanced Chipmaking Systems (Quiver summary)
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest data are mixed/noisy: January showed a material decline in short positions (fewer shorts = less downward pressure), but a February data entry was anomalous/unclear — noisy data can create uncertainty for traders relying on short‑interest signals.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $329.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61. The company has a market cap of $261.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $290.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.85. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $344.60.

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, topping 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 business 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 company posted $2.32 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

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.