Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 78.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,312 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 26,235 shares during the quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 26.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 681.1% during the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 101,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,491,000 after buying an additional 88,073 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently 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: Applied announced a long-term R&D partnership with SK hynix to accelerate next‑generation DRAM and high‑bandwidth memory (HBM) development, with engineers working side‑by‑side at Applied’s EPIC Center to push materials, process integration and 3D packaging advances. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied and Micron launched a collaboration to develop next‑generation DRAM, HBM and NAND aimed at improving energy efficiency and performance for AI systems, leveraging Applied’s $5B EPIC Center and Micron’s R&D. This strengthens AMAT’s exposure to AI memory demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market coverage reacted positively to the Micron tie‑up (reports point to stock gains on the news), reinforcing investor view that Applied is central to the AI memory supply chain. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group initiated coverage of AMAT with a Hold rating — a neutral signal that may limit upside from some institutional desks. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at the 2026 Cantor conference (transcript available), providing incremental investor detail but no major guidance change. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple analyst writeups and media pieces reiterate long‑term AI tailwinds for AMAT; these help sentiment but don’t materially change fundamentals. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest figures in recent feeds show implausible “0 shares” data and a 0.0 days‑to‑cover ratio — likely a data error and not a real market pressure signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite solid Q1 free cash flow (~$1.04B), some coverage notes the stock has pulled back from recent highs — suggesting profit‑taking or positioning risk that could weigh on near‑term performance. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Filings show an elected official disposed of AMAT shares recently, which can create short‑term headlines and caution among some investors. Read More.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $345.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $395.95. The company has a market capitalization of $274.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $329.54 and a 200-day moving average of $259.38.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Barclays upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Craig Hallum reissued a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.