Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Acquires New Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 16,500 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,000. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.6% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $375.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $297.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.42, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $304.98 and a 200-day moving average of $242.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $377.11.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for 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%.Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value 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. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’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 transaction 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. Insiders have sold 9,609 shares of company stock worth $2,914,628 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat + aggressive guidance: AMAT’s Feb. quarter topped estimates and management issued strong growth commentary (management projected robust 2026 sales and raised near?term outlook), which is the fundamental catalyst behind renewed analyst optimism and higher targets. Zacks Analyst Blog
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and target increases: Zacks moved AMAT to Strong Buy and major brokers (Goldman, UBS, Barclays, Stifel, Susquehanna) have lifted price targets — these research moves increase buy?side conviction and can drive follow?on flows. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Considered a Good Investment by Brokers
• Positive Sentiment: Heavy bullish options activity: reported large volume of call purchases (well above typical daily levels) implies traders are positioning for more upside or hedging existing longs — such flows can amplify short?term moves. Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor events scheduled: management will appear at upcoming conferences — useful for more detail/Q&A but not an immediate earnings shock. Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Short?interest reports look unreliable: published data showing zero/NaN short interest and 0.0 days?to?cover are likely reporting errors and should be ignored for positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares (~$1.8M). Routine liquidity sales are common, but some investors interpret insider selling as a mild cautionary signal. SEC Form 4

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.04.

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.