KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Has $90.81 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS trimmed its stake in Applied Materials by 4.2% to 353,341 shares, valued at about $90.81 million at the end of the quarter.
• Applied Materials beat Q4 expectations with $2.38 EPS (vs. $2.21 expected) and $7.01B revenue (vs. $6.88B expected), and set Q2 2026 guidance of 2.44–2.84 EPS.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12, 0.5% yield); insiders sold roughly 12,003 shares (~$4.48M) recently, institutional ownership is about 80.56%, and the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy" with a $368.29 target.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 353,341 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 15,600 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $90,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $243,000. Crown Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $256,000. TABR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $5,730,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 97.7% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 514,000 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $132,093,000 after acquiring an additional 254,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 3,374 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $959,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $394.33 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $136.32 and a 1 year high of $407.29. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $362.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.94 billion, a PE ratio of 40.36, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.64.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the 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 directly owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $430.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho upped their price target on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.29.

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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