Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Holdings Increased by Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,079 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $436.62 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.47 and a fifty-two week high of $448.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $379.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market cap of $346.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.48% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials posted record Q2 results, beating EPS and revenue expectations and lifting its outlook, with management citing strong AI infrastructure spending as a key growth driver. Applied Materials Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street turned more bullish after the report, with multiple firms raising price targets, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Needham, and KeyCorp, reinforcing confidence in multi-year earnings growth. Applied Materials Sees Multi-Year AI Boom Driving Record Revenue And Growth Through 2028
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts highlighted a durable AI-driven semiconductor upcycle, suggesting Applied Materials could sustain elevated demand and margins through 2027-2028. Krish Sankar Reaffirms Buy on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The broader market backdrop is weaker, with major indexes down as Treasury yields and oil prices rise, which is adding headwinds for high-valuation tech and AI stocks. Stock Market Today: Dow Falls As Oil Prices, Yields Jump; Applied Materials, Nvidia, Cerebras Slide
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the strong earnings report, the stock is slipping as investors rotate out after a sharp year-to-date rally, showing some concern that expectations may already be very high. Applied Materials slips despite record quarter and strong outlook (AMAT)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. DZ Bank raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Zacks Research downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $463.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.