Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 52,703 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,695,146 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 52,703 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $347,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 391,540 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,836,807,000 after buying an additional 407,282 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,936,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,635,992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $1,604,002,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat, stronger outlook and product roadmap — AMAT reported Q1 results above expectations, issued solid Q2 guidance and flagged new transistor/materials engineering systems aimed at 2nm-and-beyond chips; management also announced a ~$252.5M export deal that supports near-term revenue visibility. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher targets — Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $432 with an “overweight” rating (higher upside vs. the current level), adding to a wave of bullish target increases from other brokers that lift sentiment. Article
• Positive Sentiment: AI/HBM-driven demand and positioning — Coverage highlights AMAT’s central role in tools for deposition/film and advanced packaging as AI and HBM demand sustain bookings and backlog visibility, underpinning margins and long-term growth expectations. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational/PR wins — Applied recognized supplier partners with Supplier Excellence Awards (positive for supply chain resilience but unlikely to move near-term revenue materially). Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Market risk-on environment — Semicon-equipment names got a lift from a broader risk-on session (S&P/Nasdaq strength) that amplified AMAT’s earnings-driven rally. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest note is ambiguous — A recent short-interest entry shows zero/NaN values and no meaningful short-days cover signal; it isn’t providing a clear opposite pressure to the rally. (Data entry appears unreliable.)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Recent Form 4 filings show CAO Adam Sanders and Director Judy Bruner sold shares (reducing holdings ~10–12%), which can weigh on near?term sentiment even if the sales may be routine diversification. CAO Adam Sanders Form 4 Director Judy Bruner Form 4

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $395.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $312.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $247.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $395.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $313.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.43, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Susquehanna raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 directly owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,112 shares of company stock worth $3,660,532. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.