Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden cut its Applied Materials stake by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,200 shares and leaving it with 209,058 shares worth about $53.7 million.
• Several analysts turned more bullish on AMAT, with multiple firms raising ratings or price targets; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $470.13.
• Applied Materials reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,058 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 7,200 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $53,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $635,057,000 after acquiring an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 82.2% during the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,512,000 after acquiring an additional 12,132 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $19,801,000 after acquiring an additional 17,288 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,531,000. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.1% during the third quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 223,211 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $45,700,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Summit Insights raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $470.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $507,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $453.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $359.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.54, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.67. The company's 50 day moving average is $408.94 and its 200 day moving average is $342.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $510.75.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $7.91 billion for 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%. Applied Materials's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. 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.

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