Norges Bank Takes $2.86 Billion Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new stake in Applied Materials worth about $2.86 billion, holding roughly 1.40% of the company at quarter-end.
• Applied Materials continues to draw bullish analyst coverage, with multiple firms raising price targets and Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirming an Overweight rating with a $575 target.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, and also raised its dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46.

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 11,123,168 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,858,543,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.40% of Applied Materials at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 147.2% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 131 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 78 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

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of AMAT opened at $450.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $357.33 billion, a PE ratio of 42.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.47 and a 1 year high of $462.40. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $397.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $333.49.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $507,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,944,800. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,461.60. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $470.13.

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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