Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 17,094 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management cut its Applied Materials stake by 44.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,094 shares and leaving it with 21,662 shares valued at about $5.57 million.
• Insider selling was also noted, including stock sales by CFO Brice Hill and Director Judy Bruner; over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,003 shares worth $4.48 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish, with multiple firms raising targets and Seaport Research initiating coverage with a Buy and a $500 price target, while Applied Materials also boosted its quarterly dividend from $0.46 to $0.53 per share.

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 44.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,662 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 17,094 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $19,731,523,000 after buying an additional 330,197 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,046,057,000 after buying an additional 10,305,182 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 42.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 10,978,990 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,247,838,000 after buying an additional 3,280,730 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,552,132 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,160,443,000 after buying an additional 1,681,911 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Seaport Research initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $500 price target, calling Applied Materials a key beneficiary of AI semiconductor spending. Seaport Research Initiates Coverage of Applied Materials (AMAT) with Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group raised FY2027 earnings estimates, reinforcing expectations for long-term earnings growth. BofA Remains Bullish on Applied Materials (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street commentary suggests Applied Materials could post an earnings beat in its upcoming report, which is keeping sentiment constructive. Applied Materials (AMAT) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles note the stock had fallen more than the broader market in the prior session, but those moves appear secondary to the stronger analyst-driven optimism. Here's Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Fell More Than Broader Market

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, May 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded shares of Applied Materials to an "outperform" rating and set a $425.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $375.90.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.1%

AMAT stock opened at $435.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $371.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.19. The firm has a market cap of $345.36 billion, a PE ratio of 44.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.47 and a fifty-two week high of $438.04.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

About Applied Materials

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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