Maj Invest Holding A S Cuts Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Maj Invest Holding A S cut its Applied Materials stake by 48.7% in the fourth quarter, though the stock still represented 7.3% of its portfolio and remained its third-largest position.
• Applied Materials posted a beat on earnings and revenue, reporting $2.86 EPS on $7.91 billion in sales, both above expectations, while also issuing Q3 2026 guidance of $3.16 to $3.56 EPS.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46, and Wall Street remains constructive on the stock with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $463.89.

Maj Invest Holding A S reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 48.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 607,843 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 576,981 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises 7.3% of Maj Invest Holding A S's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Maj Invest Holding A S owned approximately 0.08% of Applied Materials worth $156,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,046,057,000 after purchasing an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Coatue Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $685,684,000. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,247,838,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280,730 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $413.57 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $380.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $321.37. 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 has a market capitalization of $328.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.83, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.47 and a 1-year high of $448.45.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 17.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. KGI Securities upgraded Applied Materials to an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $410.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $463.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,003 shares of company stock valued at $2,678,139. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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