Handelsbanken Fonder AB Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 320,943 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 11,974 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $82,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Family Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Traveka Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. KGI Securities upgraded Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $480.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Twenty-six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $463.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,003 shares of company stock valued at $2,678,139. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.3%

AMAT opened at $413.57 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.47 and a 12 month high of $448.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $328.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.83, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $380.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $321.37.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 17.28%.

Applied Materials 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.