Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $15.63 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 23.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,362 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 23,303 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $15,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,125,265,000 after buying an additional 391,540 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,836,807,000 after purchasing an additional 407,282 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,936,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,635,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,604,002,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Susquehanna upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. DZ Bank raised Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $315.15.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.4%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $328.46 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $344.60. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $293.46 and a 200-day moving average of $235.24. The company has a market cap of $260.71 billion, a PE ratio of 37.84, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.19. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued 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 yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 earnings and revenue beat — AMAT reported $2.38 EPS and $7.01B revenue, topping consensus and demonstrating healthy margins and profitability that underpin investor confidence. Applied Materials (AMAT) Beats Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Strong forward guidance — management set Q2 FY2026 EPS guidance (2.440–2.840) and revenue targets above Street expectations, signaling continued demand for semiconductor equipment driven by AI processors. This guidance is the key driver of the after‑hours rally. Applied Materials forecasts second-quarter sales above estimates
• Positive Sentiment: AI and industry positioning — analysts and commentary point to accelerating AI/HPC capex (DRAM, advanced logic, packaging) and recurring service revenue as structural growth drivers; several firms have raised targets and reiterated Buy ratings ahead of the print. How to Read Applied Materials Earnings: What Signals Move the Stock?
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic partnerships — Samsung agreed to join AMAT’s new $5B EPIC R&D center, reinforcing customer relationships and R&D scale that support long-term demand and product leadership. Applied Materials Announces Samsung Electronics Will Join the New, Multibillion-Dollar EPIC Center
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory closure reduces uncertainty — the DOJ and SEC have closed related investigations without action, which removes a material legal overhang and clarifies near-term risk. That reduced uncertainty likely helped investor reaction even though a settlement was paid. Applied Materials Announces First Quarter 2026 Results
• Negative Sentiment: $252.5M export settlement — AMAT agreed to pay $252.5M to the U.S. Department of Commerce to resolve alleged export-control violations for certain shipments to China (Nov 2020–Jul 2022). The payment is a one‑time hit and raises compliance/controls questions, though management frames the resolution as in shareholders’ best interest. Applied Materials to pay $252 million to resolve illegal chip exports, US says

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.