Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its Applied Materials stake by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 320,943 shares valued at about $82.5 million.
• Applied Materials reported strong fiscal Q2 results, with EPS of $2.86 beating estimates and revenue of $7.91 billion topping expectations, while guidance for Q3 2026 came in at $3.16-$3.56 EPS.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46, and several analysts also lifted price targets, with the consensus rating remaining Moderate Buy.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 320,943 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 11,974 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $82,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,046,057,000 after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,869,170,000 after buying an additional 7,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 40.1% during 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 last quarter. Coatue Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $685,684,000. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 42.6% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,247,838,000 after buying an additional 3,280,730 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $413.57 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.47 and a 52 week high of $448.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $328.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.66. The stock's fifty day moving average is $380.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $321.37.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. The company'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. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Twenty-six 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, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $463.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 7,003 shares of company stock worth $2,678,139 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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.

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