Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Position Raised by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 83,665 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,081 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises about 0.5% of First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $28,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth about $986,000. Insight Advisors LLC PA bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $253,000. Saturna Capital Corp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 34.2% during the 1st quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 1,590 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 78,906 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,969,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the period. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions grew its position in Applied Materials by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 438,392 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $149,838,000 after purchasing an additional 109,506 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Up 7.4%

AMAT stock opened at $564.55 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $537.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $418.14. The company has a market capitalization of $448.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wolfe Research increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $593.84.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Peer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing announced plans to raise chipmaking prices by up to 10% in 2027, while wafer supplier IQE lifted guidance, reinforcing expectations for strong AI and data-center chip demand and more equipment spending across the semiconductor supply chain. Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ installed base services business appears to be a growing recurring-revenue engine, with Applied Global Services revenue rising to $1.665 billion from $1.42 billion a year earlier as fab utilization improves. Is AMAT’s Installed Base Business Built for Long-Term Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary continues to point to AI-driven semiconductor growth as a tailwind for AMAT, with analysts highlighting the company as a beneficiary of sustained demand for advanced chips and manufacturing equipment. 3 Stocks to Buy From the Prospering Semiconductor Industry
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials also joined CuspAI’s AI Materials Foundry as a founding member, a strategic move that could support long-term materials discovery efforts, though it is not an immediate earnings catalyst. Applied Materials (AMAT) Joins CuspAI Foundry To Speed Semiconductor Materials Discovery
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary flagged seasonal weakness for AMAT heading into late July, which could temper momentum if investors focus on near-term trading patterns. Three Stocks Just Flashed Seasonal Signals

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.