Groupama Asset Managment Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Groupama Asset Managment cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,228 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 7,650 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. State Street Corp grew its position in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,125,265,000 after buying an additional 391,540 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,046,057,000 after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,247,838,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280,730 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $357.44 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $395.95. The firm has a market cap of $283.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50-day moving average is $339.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $267.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. KeyCorp raised their price objective 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 target price on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied raised its quarterly dividend by 15%, marking a continuation of multi‑year dividend growth and signaling confidence in cash flow and the AI/memory tool cycle. This directly supports shareholder returns and boosts investor sentiment. Applied Materials Lifts Dividend As AI Investment And Cash Returns Converge
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying fundamentals remain supportive: recent quarterly beats and company guidance (Q2 FY26 EPS range) reinforce expectations that AMAT will benefit from AI-driven capital expenditure across logic and memory chipmakers. This is a core reason investors are bidding the stock higher. 3 Reasons Investors Watch Applied Materials (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: Sector peers (e.g., Lam Research) are reporting rising systems revenue and benefiting from the AI capex cycle; that peer strength supports the thesis that equipment suppliers like AMAT can sustain higher order activity into 2026. Can Lam Research’s Systems Business Sustain Growth Amid AI Capex Boom?
• Neutral Sentiment: Longer‑term tooling developments (ASML High‑NA EUV adoption by imec) underpin next‑generation chip roadmaps, which is positive for equipment demand but is a multi‑year story rather than an immediate catalyst for AMAT. Belgium’s imec secures rare ASML High NA EUV tool
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data for AMAT in mid‑March shows anomalous zero/NaN figures across filings, making it unreliable as a directional signal right now. Investors should treat those prints with caution. (internal reporting)
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market moves — including commodity swings and mixed reactions to semiconductor earnings (e.g., Micron) — add macro volatility that can blunt sector rallies even when company‑specific news is positive. Dow Jones Futures: Oil Backs Off $100; Micron Skids Despite Blowout Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: AMAT has run up substantially over recent months (large percentage gains), raising the risk of a near‑term pullback or profit‑taking; valuation metrics (higher P/E) mean the stock is more sensitive to any slowdown in capex or weaker guidance. 3 Reasons Investors Watch Applied Materials (AMAT)

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.