Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Purchased by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 195.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,976 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,923 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after purchasing an additional 330,197 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings 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 valued at $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $2,247,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 19.0% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,681,911 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $410.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $151.51 and a 1-year high of $420.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $369.34 and a 200-day moving average of $308.46. The company has a market capitalization of $326.03 billion, a PE ratio of 42.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.66.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $454 and kept an “overweight” rating, signaling more upside from current levels and likely supporting buying interest. Morgan Stanley raises AMAT price target to $454 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials agreed to acquire NEXX (from ASMPT) to broaden its panel?level advanced packaging tech — strengthens AMAT’s exposure to AI accelerator packaging, a high?growth end market. Applied Materials Broadens Advanced Packaging Portfolio with Acquisition of NEXX (GlobeNewswire)
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and news pieces highlight AMAT’s strong history of earnings surprises and argue the company has the key ingredients to beat again — this raises the probability of another upside EPS surprise and helps near?term sentiment. Will Applied Materials (AMAT) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report? (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector momentum: chip stocks rallied sharply in April, which benefits large equipment suppliers like AMAT via sentiment and multiple expansion — positive tailwind but indirect. Chip Stocks Soared 70%+ in April. Have They Gone Too Far? (247wallst)
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer earnings beats (Advanced Energy, Lattice Semiconductor) show AI/data?center demand lifting equipment and component suppliers — supportive context but not company?specific. Advanced Energy Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Another peer, Lattice, beat Q1 estimates; such results can validate demand trends AMAT operates in but don’t directly change AMAT fundamentals. Lattice Semiconductor Q1 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: An ACM Research article in your feed is company?specific to ACMR (not AMAT) and discusses revenue growth vs. margin pressure — peripheral to AMAT but part of the broader equipment ecosystem newsflow. ACM Research to Report Q1 Earnings: What’s in Store for the Stock? (Yahoo)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. KGI Securities upgraded Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $370.86.

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.