Mechanics Financial Corp Sells 3,905 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Mechanics Financial Corp reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 86.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,905 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $129,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% in the third quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 657 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company unveiled advanced 2nm-era chipmaking systems (Viva, Sym3 Z Magnum, Spectral ALD) that customers are already adopting — a direct revenue/capex catalyst if foundries scale these tools into volume production. Applied Materials Unveils Transistor and Wiring Innovations for Faster AI Chips
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell meaningfully in January (down ~14.6% to ~13.7M shares, ~1.7% of float), reducing a near-term bearish pressure on the stock and lowering squeeze risk metrics. (Data summary from entries)
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street momentum: multiple firms (RBC, UBS and others) recently reiterated/raised targets and buy/outperform stances, underpinning investor confidence and supporting higher price targets (median ~$350; several in the $360–$400 range). UBS Lifts Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Target, Reiterates Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Technical and price momentum: the stock has climbed ~8% over the last month and recently crossed above its 20-day moving average — signals that traders view the setup as bullish ahead of earnings. AMAT Climbs 8% in a Month
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings day uncertainty — traders expect a notable post-earnings move and some are anticipating continuation of the rally if guidance or commentary is strong; but consensus still models modest YoY revenue/EPS dips, so outcomes are binary. Here’s How Much Traders Expect Applied Materials Stock to Move After Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/preview caution: some previews flag that the recent rally stretched valuation and Q1 results could show year-over-year revenue softness despite AI tailwinds — a mixed read for longer-term upside. Applied Materials Q1 Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity shows recent open-market sales by senior finance officers (multiple small sells), which some investors view as a mild negative signal ahead of earnings. (Data summary from entries)

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $329.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $261.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year 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 simple moving average of $290.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.85.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Mizuho set a $370.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Susquehanna raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.15.

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.