Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Position Increased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,765,950 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,804 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $475,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,046,057,000 after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 617.2% during 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 worth $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Coatue Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $685,684,000. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,247,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,730 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $410.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $369.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $308.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $151.51 and a 1 year high of $420.50. The stock has a market cap of $326.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.05, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 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 report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.86.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $454 and kept an “overweight” rating, signaling more upside from current levels and likely supporting buying interest. Morgan Stanley raises AMAT price target to $454 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials agreed to acquire NEXX (from ASMPT) to broaden its panel?level advanced packaging tech — strengthens AMAT’s exposure to AI accelerator packaging, a high?growth end market. Applied Materials Broadens Advanced Packaging Portfolio with Acquisition of NEXX (GlobeNewswire)
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and news pieces highlight AMAT’s strong history of earnings surprises and argue the company has the key ingredients to beat again — this raises the probability of another upside EPS surprise and helps near?term sentiment. Will Applied Materials (AMAT) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report? (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector momentum: chip stocks rallied sharply in April, which benefits large equipment suppliers like AMAT via sentiment and multiple expansion — positive tailwind but indirect. Chip Stocks Soared 70%+ in April. Have They Gone Too Far? (247wallst)
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer earnings beats (Advanced Energy, Lattice Semiconductor) show AI/data?center demand lifting equipment and component suppliers — supportive context but not company?specific. Advanced Energy Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Another peer, Lattice, beat Q1 estimates; such results can validate demand trends AMAT operates in but don’t directly change AMAT fundamentals. Lattice Semiconductor Q1 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: An ACM Research article in your feed is company?specific to ACMR (not AMAT) and discusses revenue growth vs. margin pressure — peripheral to AMAT but part of the broader equipment ecosystem newsflow. ACM Research to Report Q1 Earnings: What’s in Store for the Stock? (Yahoo)

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.