OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Sells 10,929 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd decreased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 66.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 10,929 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 3,374 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Optas LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,522 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $905,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Ticino Wealth bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $817,000. Finally, Breachway Investments LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $250,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied announced that Advantest will join its EPIC (Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization) platform as an innovation partner, co‑locating an Advantest center with Applied’s EPIC campus to speed front‑end to back‑end integration for next‑gen chips — a strategic R&D tie-up that can drive future equipment demand and strengthen AMAT’s ecosystem position. Applied Materials Announces Advantest as Innovation Partner for EPIC Platform in Silicon Valley
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT joined Tesla’s Terafab project, which could translate into meaningful incremental orders if the initiative advances to production — a potential revenue upside tied to next‑generation fab builds. Applied Materials Just Joined the Tesla Terafab Project. Does That Make AMAT Stock a Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage highlights Jim Cramer mentioning AMAT among his stock calls — a visibility boost that can help sentiment but doesn’t change fundamentals. Monitor whether retail flows driven by such mentions persist. Jim Cramer’s 17 Stock Calls: Applied Materials and CoreWeave
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis notes AMAT is deepening test‑to‑fab linkages (via EPIC/Advantest) but flags a stretched valuation — this is a mixed signal: strong strategic positioning offset by higher expectations already priced in. Watch guidance and order flow for confirmation. Applied Materials Deepens Chip Test Links As Valuation Looks Stretched
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory risk: Micron is pushing U.S. lawmakers to tighten export controls on chipmaking tools (MATCH Act), which would pressure suppliers to Chinese fabs — potential headwind for AMAT if new curbs or compliance costs limit sales to certain customers. This is a policy risk to monitor for order exposure and geographic revenue mix. Micron pushes US Congress to crack down on chip tool sales to Chinese rivals, sources say

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.29.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $403.48 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $363.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.99. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.74 and a twelve month high of $407.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $320.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.70%.

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.