Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich Purchases New Shares in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 36,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,494,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 391,540 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after buying an additional 5,700,349 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,936,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,635,992,000 after buying an additional 1,075,525 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,604,002,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $324.74 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $395.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $257.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $326.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $256.15.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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 $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. The company’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 analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. 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 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market pieces highlight a renewed semiconductor opportunity in 2026, which benefits AMAT as a leading chip-equipment supplier; this underpins investor confidence in the company’s medium‑to‑long‑term demand. Semiconductor Opportunity Is Here
• Positive Sentiment: A recent feature argues AMAT is balancing near-term sector turbulence while maintaining a long‑term chip demand story — reinforcing buy‑and‑hold narratives for chip-capex exposure. Applied Materials Balances Sector Turbulence With Long Term Chip Demand Story
• Positive Sentiment: Technical commentary notes AMAT broke above its 20‑day moving average, signaling short‑term bullish momentum that can attract momentum traders. Applied Materials (AMAT) Recently Broke Out Above the 20-Day Moving Average
• Positive Sentiment: Context pieces point out AMAT has gained strongly over recent months (≈+33% over three months), showing momentum that can support share prices when markets stabilize. AMAT Climbs 33.4% in 3 Months: Time to Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Erste Group initiated coverage with a “hold” rating — neither bullish nor bearish but may limit upside from fresh upbeat upgrades. Tickerreport: Erste Group Starts Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short‑interest data reported as zeros/NaN appear erroneous; no clear signal from short sellers right now (data should be treated cautiously).
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure: Nasdaq weakness and falling futures are dragging high‑beta tech and semicap names lower, pressuring AMAT despite company strengths. Live Nasdaq Composite: Markets Buckle Under Pressure With No Relief in Sight
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical risk and rising oil amid Middle East conflict are lifting energy prices and weighing on risk assets ahead of a key jobs report — a near‑term headwind for AMAT. Stock Futures Fall, Oil Jumps as Middle East War Continues; Key Jobs Report on Deck

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays raised their price target on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.