Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Stock Holdings Lessened by Talbot Financial LLC

Talbot Financial LLC trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 156,578 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,881 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 3.3% of Talbot Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Talbot Financial LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $40,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an Overweight rating and raised its price target on AMAT from $470 to $500, increasing implied upside and signaling strong analyst conviction in Applied’s role in AI infrastructure spending. Cantor Fitzgerald Reaffirms Overweight Rating for Applied Materials (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: Business press pieces name AMAT among top AI-related chip/infra winners (a “forget NVIDIA” theme), highlighting accelerating demand for AI fabs and equipment that benefits wafer-fab suppliers like Applied. This reinforces momentum and buy-side interest. Forget NVIDIA: 2 AI Stocks Poised to Be Next Big Winners
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks coverage and analyst-blog callouts are placing AMAT alongside other WFE (wafer fab equipment) names as direct beneficiaries of AI-driven capex, echoing the thesis that “pick-and-shovel” suppliers will see sustained order momentum. Forget NVIDIA: 2 AI Stocks Poised to Be Next Big Winners (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks also notes heightened investor attention on AMAT (pageview/interest-driven coverage), which can amplify short-term flows but doesn’t by itself change fundamentals. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader industry write-ups on Lam Research and ASML show strong WFE trends and peer strength; these validate the sector thesis that benefits AMAT but are not company-specific catalysts. AI Boom Aids LRCX’s Systems Revenue Growth: Can the Momentum Continue? ASML Holding Rises 23.1% YTD: Time to Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $352.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $279.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $347.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $283.95. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $395.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.