Capital International Inc. CA Acquires 9,761 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Capital International Inc. CA boosted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 57,995 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,761 shares during the quarter. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $345.88 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $274.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.40, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.65. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $395.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $329.54 and its 200 day moving average is $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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter 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 predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho upped their price target on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to 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 assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

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.