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

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder increased its Applied Materials stake by 29.6%. The firm bought 105,776 additional shares, bringing its holdings to 462,685 shares valued at approximately $334.5 million; institutional investors collectively own 80.56% of AMAT.
• Applied Materials exceeded quarterly earnings expectations. The company reported $2.86 in EPS and $7.91 billion in revenue, ahead of estimates, with revenue up 11.4% year over year; management guided for third-quarter EPS of $3.16 to $3.56.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish, but valuation and insider selling are risks. AMAT has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $603.23, while insiders sold about $169.7 million of stock over the past three months and the shares trade at a P/E ratio near 49.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 105,776 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises about 1.0% of Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.06% of Applied Materials worth $334,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,747,000 after buying an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Applied Materials by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $77,383,000 after buying an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.2%

AMAT 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. The company has a market capitalization of $414.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.03, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.61. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $560.75 and a 200-day moving average of $439.93.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Barclays increased their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $570.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $603.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting 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.

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.

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