Swedbank AB Raises Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in Applied Materials, acquiring 22,946 shares to total approximately 3.77 million shares, representing 0.8% of its holdings.
• Applied Materials reported a Q3 EPS of $2.48, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $7.30 billion, marking a 7.7% year-over-year increase.
• The dividend of $0.46 per share will be paid on December 11th, reflecting a 1.0% yield based on an annualized payout of $1.84.

Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,768,551 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,946 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up 0.8% of Swedbank AB's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.47% of Applied Materials worth $689,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 91.5% during the first quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $194.35.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.1%

Applied Materials stock traded up $7.85 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $197.95. The stock had a trading volume of 5,347,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,469,216. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $176.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $215.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.77.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 21.93%.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.