Core Viewpoint - Applied Materials has shown strong institutional interest, with several investors increasing their stakes, indicating confidence in the company's future performance [1][5]. Institutional Investment - State Street Corp increased its position by 1.0%, owning 38,920,984 shares valued at $7.13 billion after acquiring 391,540 shares [1] - Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings by 2.0%, now owning 21,026,363 shares worth $3.84 billion after purchasing 407,282 shares [1] - Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position by 72.5%, owning 13,564,120 shares valued at $2.48 billion after acquiring 5,700,349 shares [1] - Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake by 13.7%, now holding 8,936,363 shares valued at $1.64 billion after purchasing 1,075,525 shares [1] - Norges Bank acquired a new stake worth $1.60 billion [1] - Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the stock [1]. Price Performance - Shares opened at $375.38, with a market cap of $297.95 billion and a P/E ratio of 38.42 [2] - The 50-day simple moving average is $304.98, and the 200-day simple moving average is $243.13 [2] - The stock has a twelve-month low of $123.74 and a high of $377.11 [2] - The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94, and a current ratio of 2.71 [2]. Earnings and Guidance - The company reported $2.38 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17 [3] - Revenue for the quarter was $7.01 billion, surpassing analyst estimates of $6.88 billion [3] - The net margin was 27.78%, and return on equity was 37.52% [3] - Quarterly revenue decreased by 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year [3] - Guidance for Q2 2026 is set at 2.440-2.840 EPS, with analysts expecting 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year [3]. Dividend Announcement - A quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share will be paid on March 12, with an annualized dividend of $1.84 and a yield of 0.5% [4] - The ex-dividend date is February 19, and the dividend payout ratio is 18.83% [4]. Analyst Ratings and Price Targets - Needham & Company raised the target price from $390.00 to $440.00, maintaining a "buy" rating [5] - Barclays increased their price target from $360.00 to $450.00, giving an "overweight" rating [5] - Morgan Stanley set a price objective of $420.00 [5] - Mizuho raised their target from $370.00 to $410.00 with an "outperform" rating [5] - TD Cowen increased their target from $315.00 to $450.00, maintaining a "buy" rating [5] - Consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $363.04 [5]. Insider Activity - SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares at an average price of $238.24, totaling $952,960, reducing ownership by 4.53% [8] - CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares at an average price of $255.53, totaling $155,617.77, reducing ownership by 12.13% [8] - Insiders sold a total of 9,609 shares valued at $2.91 million in the last 90 days, with corporate insiders owning 0.30% of the stock [8].