Johnson Financial Group Inc. Buys 8,625 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 156.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,130 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,625 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,893,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Athena Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% in the third quarter. Athena Investment Management now owns 3,271 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $670,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $13,928,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,429,000. Acorns Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $227,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Services raised its stake in Applied Materials by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 5,171 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% 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 sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group set a $430.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board-approved 15% quarterly dividend increase to $0.53 per share (payable June 11, 2026), marking the ninth consecutive year of raises and signaling strong free-cash-flow generation and shareholder-return commitment. Applied Materials Raises Quarterly Cash Dividend by 15 Percent
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term R&D partnerships announced with SK hynix and collaborations with Micron to accelerate next-gen DRAM/HBM for AI/HPC — strengthens AMAT’s addressable market in high-growth memory tooling. Applied Materials forges partnerships with Micron and SK Hynix for AI memory chips
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street support and elevated price targets remain favorable (median targets well above current price, multiple recent buy/overweight calls), which can sustain upward momentum as analysts re-rate the AI/semi recovery. Goldman Sachs Raises Price Targets on 3 Tech Giants
• Neutral Sentiment: Takeover chatter linking AMAT (and Lam Research) to BE Semiconductor Industries (BESI) has lifted M&A speculation — potential strategic moves could be positive but remain unconfirmed and speculative. BE Semiconductor Industries (BESI) Stock Soars on Takeover Buzz From Lam Research and Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed institutional activity reported (large adds and large trims among major funds) — indicates divergent positioning among large investors rather than a clear directional shift. Applied Materials Board Approves 15% Increase in Quarterly Cash Dividend
• Negative Sentiment: Broader chip-sector weakness tied to geopolitical/oil-risk shocks has pressured peer stocks (NVIDIA, Broadcom, Micron), which can transmit volatility to AMAT despite company-specific positives. Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron Fall as Oil Risk Sends Shockwaves Through Tech
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling activity over recent months and a high payout ratio (company has returned nearly 90% of free cash flow via dividends and buybacks) may raise governance/Capital-allocation concerns for some investors. Applied Materials Board Approves 15% Increase in Quarterly Cash Dividend

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $337.27 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $395.95. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $333.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $267.66 billion, a PE ratio of 34.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.65.

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

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.