Mechanics Financial Corp Sells 3,905 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Mechanics Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 86.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,905 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% during the third quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 657 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $673,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.0% during the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 3.0% in the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $390.00 in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $385.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday. Craig Hallum restated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $285.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.15.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company unveiled advanced 2nm-era chipmaking systems (Viva, Sym3 Z Magnum, Spectral ALD) that customers are already adopting — a direct revenue/capex catalyst if foundries scale these tools into volume production. Applied Materials Unveils Transistor and Wiring Innovations for Faster AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell meaningfully in January (down ~14.6% to ~13.7M shares, ~1.7% of float), reducing a near-term bearish pressure on the stock and lowering squeeze risk metrics. (Data summary from entries)
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street momentum: multiple firms (RBC, UBS and others) recently reiterated/raised targets and buy/outperform stances, underpinning investor confidence and supporting higher price targets (median ~$350; several in the $360–$400 range). UBS Lifts Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Target, Reiterates Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Technical and price momentum: the stock has climbed ~8% over the last month and recently crossed above its 20-day moving average — signals that traders view the setup as bullish ahead of earnings. AMAT Climbs 8% in a Month
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings day uncertainty — traders expect a notable post-earnings move and some are anticipating continuation of the rally if guidance or commentary is strong; but consensus still models modest YoY revenue/EPS dips, so outcomes are binary. Here’s How Much Traders Expect Applied Materials Stock to Move After Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/preview caution: some previews flag that the recent rally stretched valuation and Q1 results could show year-over-year revenue softness despite AI tailwinds — a mixed read for longer-term upside. Applied Materials Q1 Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity shows recent open-market sales by senior finance officers (multiple small sells), which some investors view as a mild negative signal ahead of earnings. (Data summary from entries)

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $329.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $290.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.85. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $344.60. The company has a market cap of $261.19 billion, a PE ratio of 37.91, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

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.