Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Sells 30,791 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 298,693 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 30,791 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $61,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price target on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Summit Insights raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $349.47 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $337.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $395.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.34 billion, a PE ratio of 35.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. 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 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 paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.83%.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied approved a 15% increase in its quarterly dividend (now $0.53/share), extending nine consecutive years of dividend growth — a shareholder‑friendly move that signals management confidence in the AI/memory and logic tool cycle. Applied Materials Lifts Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Applied announced a collaboration with Synopsys and NVIDIA to speed quantum chemistry/materials simulations for semiconductor R&D (up to ~30x faster), which can shorten development cycles for advanced materials used in next‑gen chips — reinforcing AMAT’s software+equipment value proposition to chipmakers investing for AI. Applied Materials Ties Quantum Simulations
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple bullish writeups and portfolio moves (Seeking Alpha features, InvestorPlace thematic piece on AI bottlenecks, and coverage noting interest from investors like Ken Fisher) amplify positive sentiment that AMAT will benefit from increased capex in AI chips and memory. Applied Materials: The AI Gold Rush Everyone Is Missing
• Positive Sentiment: Industry news: Belgium’s imec secured a rare ASML High‑NA EUV tool to develop next‑gen chips. While this is an ASML story, it underscores accelerating investment in advanced node tooling and materials — a demand tailwind for semiconductor equipment suppliers like AMAT. Belgium’s imec secures rare ASML High NA EUV tool
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent quarterly results beat EPS and revenue estimates but showed slight year‑over‑year revenue decline; management set Q2 guidance of $2.44–$2.84. These keep the fundamental story intact but don’t eliminate cyclical risk. MarketBeat AMAT summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest notices in recent filings show 0 shares / 0 days-to-cover — likely a data or reporting anomaly rather than meaningful short activity; treat these figures with caution. (Data entries dated March 17–18.)
• Negative Sentiment: The stock has posted a very strong run (reported ~86% in six months), which raises the risk of near‑term profit taking and increases sensitivity to any execution/guidance disappointments or macro slowdowns given a relatively elevated P/E. 3 Reasons Investors Watch Applied Materials

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.