Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 105,776 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 105,776 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 1.0% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $334,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% in the second quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 0.7% during the first quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,288 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.2% during the second quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 1,040 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $752,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 34.8% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 4.9% during the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 531 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised longer-term earnings expectations. An analyst increased the FY2027 EPS forecast, suggesting continued confidence in Applied Materials’ semiconductor-equipment demand and earnings trajectory. FY2027 EPS Forecast for Applied Materials Lifted by Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: AI and data-center investment remain major growth drivers. Applied Materials supplies equipment used to manufacture advanced chips, and potential semiconductor demand from Tesla and SpaceX’s proposed $16.8 billion “Terafab” project could benefit AMAT and other chip-equipment suppliers. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights SpaceX, Tesla, KLA Corp, Onto Innovation, Applied Materials and Lam Research
• Positive Sentiment: The investment case includes solid fundamentals and shareholder returns. Coverage highlights AMAT’s AI exposure, broad technology portfolio, strong profitability and dividend history. Its latest reported quarter also exceeded consensus estimates for revenue and EPS, while management provided third-quarter EPS guidance of $3.16 to $3.56. Applied Materials’ dividends: History, yield and payout ratio explained
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the immediate catalyst. Analysts expect approximately $3.39 in Q3 EPS on roughly $9 billion of revenue, while previews emphasize key operating metrics beyond headline results. The stock’s implied earnings move is potentially sizable, increasing short-term volatility. Applied Materials Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: High expectations and valuation leave little room for disappointment. AMAT has rallied significantly over the past year but remains well below its yearly peak. With a reported P/E ratio near 49, investors may be taking profits or reducing exposure ahead of earnings unless the outlook clearly supports current expectations.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader semiconductor-sector volatility is another headwind. Weakness in major equipment stocks, including ASML, following China-related headlines may be weighing on sentiment toward the entire chip-equipment group, even though the recent AMAT coverage is predominantly bullish.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $603.23.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $522.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $560.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $439.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $414.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.17 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

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.