NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Trims Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 25.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 225,860 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 77,445 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for about 1.1% of NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $47,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. IFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1,008.1% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 113,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,924,000 after acquiring an additional 10,468 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings 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 grew its holdings 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. BNP Paribas upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.25.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: TSMC’s $52–$56B 2026 capex guidance creates near‑term, high‑certainty demand for equipment suppliers like Applied Materials — MarketBeat explains that TSMC must buy new, specialized deposition and other tools (benefitting AMAT) to move to 2nm production. The $56 Billion Draft: Follow TSMC’s CapEx Stream
• Positive Sentiment: Applied topped out at a new all‑time high as investors front‑run TSMC-driven equipment demand; KeyBanc says AMAT can push higher in 2026. Applied Materials Stock Just Hit a New All-Time High. Should You Buy AMAT Here?
• Positive Sentiment: Several sell‑side upgrades (Barclays, RBC, Stifel and others) have raised ratings/targets and highlighted AMAT’s exposure to AI capex and HBM growth, supporting upward price momentum. Applied Materials, AEI Industries, MKS in focus as KeyBanc ups targets
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgrade specifically cited AI‑driven fab spending as a catalyst, which helped spur intraday gains. Barclays upgrades Applied Materials (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT’s HBM (hybrid bonding) business hit $1.5B in FY25 and is positioned to double as memory/AI packaging ramps — a structural growth driver cited by analysts. Applied Materials FY25 HBM Revenues Hit $1.5B: A New Growth Driver?
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary offers trade ideas and allocation strategies (e.g., “drafting the titan”) that favor equipment vendors instead of chip designers — useful context but not a direct company update. Here Is A Smart Way To Invest In AMAT Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: AMAT is due to report its next quarter soon; analysts expect a single‑digit EPS decrease, so near‑term guidance and orders will be watched closely for confirmation of the TSMC-driven rebound. Here’s What to Expect From Applied Materials’ Next Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and positioning risk: AMAT is trading near its 52‑week high with elevated multiples (PE/PEG), so any hiccup in order timing, customer pushouts or margin guidance could trigger a pullback. Here is What to Know Beyond Why Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) is a Trending Stock

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.5%

AMAT stock opened at $327.01 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $331.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $261.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $218.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $259.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.67, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.67.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

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.