Cullinan Associates Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Cullinan Associates Inc. lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,974 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,849 shares during the quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $12,689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1,008.1% during the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,619,000 after buying an additional 32,893 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion grew its position in Applied Materials by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 113,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $18,924,000 after purchasing an additional 10,468 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 31.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 145,277 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,601,000 after purchasing an additional 35,012 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13,360.6% in the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 694,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $127,129,000 after purchasing an additional 689,272 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: FY25 flash (NAND) sales nearly doubled to $1.41B as 3D NAND capacity upgrades and sales of new metrology tools accelerated AMAT’s flash momentum — supports revenue diversification and upside to equipment sales if customers continue 3D NAND investment. AMAT’s Flash Memory Sales Nearly Double in FY25: What’s Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target from $300 to $350 and kept a Buy rating — a notable bullish analyst signal that implies meaningful upside vs. the current level and can attract momentum buyers. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Susquehanna upgraded AMAT (another analyst upgrade), reinforcing the positive consensus shift among sell‑side firms — additional support for near‑term sentiment. Susquehanna upgrades Applied Materials (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell meaningfully in December (down ~21% to ~13.96M shares; days‑to‑cover ~2.3), implying reduced short pressure heading into the new year — a technical positive for the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity shows “market whale” bets around AMAT — increased derivatives flow can signal conviction but is ambiguous on direction without position detail. Market Whales and Their Recent Bets on AMAT Options
• Neutral Sentiment: Roundup articles sharing analyst forecasts (some calling for large rallies) create speculation-driven interest but are not concrete catalysts — treat as noise until backed by fundamentals or guidance. Applied Materials To Rally Around 33%? Here Are 10 Top Analyst Forecasts
• Neutral Sentiment: January short‑interest data in one feed appears inconsistent/erroneous (reported as 0 shares / NaN change); treat the January reading as unreliable until clarified by official exchanges.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials 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 directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, 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.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.8%

AMAT stock opened at $304.87 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $310.64. The firm has a market cap of $241.74 billion, a PE ratio of 35.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $256.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. 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 business posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Mizuho set a $275.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.59.

About Applied Materials

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.