Forsta AP Fonden Sells 5,200 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its Applied Materials stake by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,200 shares and leaving it with 209,800 shares valued at about $53.9 million.
• Applied Materials is drawing bullish analyst attention, including Cantor Fitzgerald’s reiterated Overweight rating and raised $575 price target; several other firms also lifted targets, with consensus still at Moderate Buy.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, raised its dividend to $0.53 per share, and continues to benefit from AI-driven demand and new semiconductor equipment partnerships.

Forsta AP Fonden lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,800 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 5,200 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $53,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 145,050 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 12,132 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 17,288 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,531,000. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its Overweight rating on Applied Materials and raised its price target to $575, reinforcing bullish analyst sentiment and pointing to more upside potential. Applied Materials NASDAQ: AMAT Receives Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights AMAT’s blowout quarterly results, higher outlook, and new AI chip equipment partnerships with companies like Broadcom and SCREEN, all of which support expectations for continued demand in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Assessing Applied Materials (AMAT) Valuation After Earnings Beat And New AI Chip Equipment Partnerships
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Gary Dickerson said the semiconductor industry is in its strongest period ever, with AI driving unprecedented computing demand, which adds to the long-term growth narrative for Applied Materials. This is the greatest time ever for semiconductors, says CEO of key equipment supplier
• Positive Sentiment: AMAT continues to attract bullish commentary from analysts and market commentators as a leading AI semiconductor equipment play, helping sustain momentum in the shares. KLA vs. Applied Materials: Which Chip Equipment Stock Wins Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also presented at Bernstein’s Strategic Decisions Conference, which kept investors focused on management’s outlook but did not add a major new catalyst. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Presents at Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling by Director Judy Bruner may create a modest headwind, though the sale was small relative to her remaining stake and does not appear to change the broader bullish thesis. Applied Materials director Judy Bruner stock sale

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,944,800. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. DZ Bank raised shares of Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $470.13.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT opened at $450.06 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $153.47 and a one year high of $462.40. 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 company's 50 day simple moving average is $397.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $333.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $357.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

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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