Maple Capital Management Inc. Has $18.62 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Maple Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 90,930 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,489 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up about 1.2% of Maple Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $18,617,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Applied Materials by 225.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,046,057,000 after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,604,002,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its quarterly dividend 15% to $0.53, with a low forward payout ratio and long-term dividend growth — signals management confidence and returns cash to shareholders. As Applied Materials Raises Its Dividend 15%, Should You Buy AMAT Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and industry pieces position AMAT as a key beneficiary of an AI-driven semiconductor cycle (memory, logic, tooling), reinforcing growth expectations for equipment makers. Applied Materials: The AI Gold Rush Everyone Is Missing
• Positive Sentiment: Research/technology-focused coverage highlights AMAT’s process node relevance (gate-all-around) and upgrades its buy thesis — technical roadmap upside can drive order cycles. Applied Materials: The Gate-All-Around Inflection Point Justifies A Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT announced a collaboration with Synopsys and NVIDIA to speed quantum chemistry simulations for chip R&D — could shorten materials development cycles and improve competitive positioning. Applied Materials Ties Quantum Simulations To AI Chip R&D Story
• Positive Sentiment: Investor mentions: billionaire investor Ken Fisher included AMAT among notable moves for 2026, providing a retail/market sentiment tailwind. Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT): Billionaire Ken Fisher Remains Positive on Semis
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage notes the dividend yield remains low (~0.6%) despite the hike and multiple dividend-focused write-ups reiterate yield/context rather than changing the growth story. Applied Materials Dividend Growth Adds New Dimension to AI Trade
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data in recent feeds appears inconsistent/zeroed out and shouldn’t be read as a material new signal today. Short interest data (market feed)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $352.46 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $336.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $265.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $279.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.65. 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 $123.74 and a 1 year high of $395.95.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% 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 that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 90 days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.