Flputnam Investment Management Co. Acquires 12,272 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 62,275 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,272 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Shelton Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,958 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. B. Riley boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.78.

Key Stores Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: B. Riley raised its price target to $305 from $270, signaling stronger upside expectations and supporting near?term buying interest. Applied Materials price target raised to $305 from $270 at B Riley
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho published a bullish forecast calling for strong price appreciation for AMAT, which adds institutional credibility to the rally and can drive inflows from model-driven funds. Mizuho Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha coverage upgraded AMAT to a “buy”, highlighting AI and semiconductor tailwinds — another endorsement that can influence retail and advisory flows. Applied Materials: Upgrading To Buy Amid AI And Semiconductor Tailwinds
• Positive Sentiment: Feature pieces (e.g., Yahoo UK) frame Applied as central to building the “AI backbone” — reinforcing the narrative that AMAT benefits from multi-year capex cycles in AI datacenter chips. Applied Materials: Engineering the AI Backbone
• Positive Sentiment: Consumer-facing coverage notes the stock is trading up and outlines the drivers (earnings beat, guidance, and AI demand), which can amplify momentum among traders. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Trades Up, Here Is Why
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term performance retrospectives (e.g., 247WallStreet) highlight AMAT’s historical compounding, which supports buy-and-hold investor sentiment. The Chip Equipment Maker That Quietly Turned $1,000 Into $11,280 in a Decade
• Neutral Sentiment: Aggregated analyst forecasts and research reports summarize consensus estimates and scenarios; useful for positioning but not a single catalyst. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Stock Forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: A cautionary piece notes the bull case could change if AI demand weakens despite a steady dividend, highlighting downside risk if end-market cycles soften. The Bull Case For Applied Materials (AMAT) Could Change Following Steady Dividend Amid AI Weakness

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $256.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $276.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $240.58 and a 200-day moving average of $203.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, 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 company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Company 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.