Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Holdings Lifted by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 36,020 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,499 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group set a $430.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’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 directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 12,612 shares of company stock valued at $4,639,807 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade pushed the stock higher intraday — a broker upgrade cited improved fundamentals/visibility and sent shares up before broader market weakness set in. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 4.5% Higher After Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a bullish view with forecasts for strong price appreciation, reinforcing investor confidence that equipment makers like AMAT will benefit from sustained AI and memory capex. Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Industry research highlights that AI spending is shifting value to semiconductor equipment suppliers — a structural tailwind for AMAT as fabs invest in logic, DRAM, HBM and advanced packaging. The AI spending boom is creating winners beyond the ‘Mag 7.’ Why one sector could see big gains.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary (Zacks) notes AMAT is scaling up exposure to logic, DRAM and advanced packaging (GAA, hybrid bonding, HBM), which supports multi‑year revenue growth assumptions. AMAT Scales Up Logic, DRAM & Advanced Packaging: What’s Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor Q: “Is it too late?” coverage and articles looking at valuation after a big one‑year run can increase profit‑taking; these pieces examine multiples and momentum without new company fundamentals. Is It Too Late To Consider Applied Materials (AMAT) After A 130% One Year Surge?
• Neutral Sentiment: Questions about outperforming benchmarks—coverage comparing AMAT to the S&P 500—are framing some investors’ benchmark/rebalancing decisions rather than signaling near‑term fundamental change. Is Applied Materials Stock Outperforming the S&P 500?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest entries for late Feb look erroneous/incomplete (zeros/NaN); investors should treat those figures cautiously and watch for corrected filings. (Data reported 2/25–2/26)
• Negative Sentiment: Sector sell‑off after Nvidia’s earnings created downward pressure—concerns about the sustainability of AI capex flow prompted a pullback in AMAT despite recent strength. A Look At Applied Materials (AMAT) Valuation After Sector Sell Off On AI Spending Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: News items grouping AMAT with other semiconductor names that are falling amplify momentum selling and may trigger short‑term downside as traders reduce exposure. Applied Materials, Broadcom, Lam Research, Western Digital, and Allegro MicroSystems shares are falling, what you need to know

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.9%

Applied Materials stock opened at $372.30 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $395.95. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $295.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $317.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $249.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

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.