Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 151,452 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lowered its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 45.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 184,441 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 151,452 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $37,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $410,000. McAdam LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $288,000. Finally, Maridea Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $498,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages raised price targets and reiterated overweight/buy views — KeyBanc bumped its target to $380 citing DRAM-driven capacity growth and vertical scaling potential; Needham raised its target to $390. KeyBanc Raises Applied Materials (AMAT) Target to $380, Keeps Overweight Rating Needham & Company LLC Increases Applied Materials Price Target to $390.00
• Positive Sentiment: Shares reached an all‑time high intraday, reflecting strong momentum and demand for semiconductor equipment exposure. Applied Materials stock hits all-time high at $332.31 USD
• Positive Sentiment: Applied’s display segment is rebounding: Zacks notes Q4 display revenue jumped ~68% with stronger OLED and advanced systems demand — a potential multi‑year growth driver beyond chips. Can AMAT Lead the Display Market With Advanced OLED and AR/VR Push?
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 2026 earnings call set for Feb. 12 — investors will focus on revenue guidance, memory demand trends, and China exposure. Applied Materials fiscal Q1 2026 earnings conference call details (company IR)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is broad and bullish overall (many Buy/Overweight ratings and a wide range of targets); median target noted in some aggregation is lower than the newest highs, highlighting dispersion in expectations. Applied Materials announces earnings call (QuiverQuant summary)
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation scrutiny after the rally — several write‑ups flag that shares have run up strongly and investors should reassess forward multiples and upside. Applied Materials (AMAT) Valuation Check After Strong Recent Share Price Gains
• Negative Sentiment: China exposure and recent revenue softness remain a risk: AMAT’s revenue was down ~3.5% YoY in the last quarter, and some industry comparisons note China‑facing headwinds that could limit near‑term upside. Which Semiconductor Equipment Stock Has More Upside in 2026? (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: At least one retail‑oriented column argues there’s a reason to sell vs. rotate into an alternative, highlighting the risk of buying late in a strong run. 1 Reason to Sell AMAT and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $294.75.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.2%

AMAT opened at $322.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $255.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.15, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $333.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $270.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.39.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. 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.