Swedbank AB Cuts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Swedbank AB lowered its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,837,124 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 126,794 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 1.0% of Swedbank AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $969,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after buying an additional 330,197 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after acquiring an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials was added to Zacks’ Rank #1 (Strong Buy) momentum stock list for July 7, which may support investor interest in the name. Best Momentum Stock to Buy for July 7th
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Applied Materials to $647 from $502, signaling continued analyst confidence even though the firm kept an equal-weight rating. Applied Materials Given New $647.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs also lifted its target on AMAT to $645, helping drive a broader chip-stock rally earlier in the session. 2 Chip Stocks Driving Today’s Rally With Lofty Bull Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ AI-related product momentum remains a theme after it unveiled the SENZ platform to speed smart-glasses development, reinforcing its positioning in AI-enabled hardware. Applied Materials Unveils AI-Powered SENZ Platform to Accelerate Smart Glasses Development
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted AMAT as a popular and “best stocks on the rise” candidate, but these pieces are largely sentiment-driven rather than tied to a specific new operational catalyst. Is Applied Materials One of the Best Stocks on the Rise to Invest In?
• Negative Sentiment: Chip stocks, including Applied Materials, were pressured by a broader semiconductor selloff after Samsung earnings triggered risk-off trading across the group. Intel and Applied Materials Dive 10%, AMD Craters 8% as Samsung Earnings Trigger Chip Selloff

Applied Materials Trading Down 9.6%

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $56.86 on Tuesday, hitting $535.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,283,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,260,349. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $499.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $391.80. The firm has a market cap of $425.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.29, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $569.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.