Swedbank AB Reduces Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Swedbank AB cut its Applied Materials stake by 4.3% in the first quarter, selling 126,794 shares and leaving it with 2.84 million shares valued at about $969.7 million.
• Insiders have been selling shares recently, including director Thomas J. Iannotti and insider Prabu G. Raja, with total insider sales over the last 90 days reaching 278,088 shares worth $169.7 million.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on AMAT, with firms like UBS, Barclays, and Morgan Stanley raising price targets; the stock also posted solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates and issuing upbeat guidance.

Swedbank AB reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,837,124 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 126,794 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up about 1.0% of Swedbank AB's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Swedbank AB owned 0.36% of Applied Materials worth $969,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth 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 period. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 52.4% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $56.86 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $535.93. The company had a trading volume of 5,283,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,260,349. The company has a fifty day moving average of $499.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $391.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $425.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.57. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials was added to Zacks’ Rank #1 (Strong Buy) momentum stock list for July 7, which may support investor interest in the name. Best Momentum Stock to Buy for July 7th
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Applied Materials to $647 from $502, signaling continued analyst confidence even though the firm kept an equal-weight rating. Applied Materials Given New $647.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs also lifted its target on AMAT to $645, helping drive a broader chip-stock rally earlier in the session. 2 Chip Stocks Driving Today's Rally With Lofty Bull Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ AI-related product momentum remains a theme after it unveiled the SENZ platform to speed smart-glasses development, reinforcing its positioning in AI-enabled hardware. Applied Materials Unveils AI-Powered SENZ Platform to Accelerate Smart Glasses Development
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted AMAT as a popular and “best stocks on the rise” candidate, but these pieces are largely sentiment-driven rather than tied to a specific new operational catalyst. Is Applied Materials One of the Best Stocks on the Rise to Invest In?
• Negative Sentiment: Chip stocks, including Applied Materials, were pressured by a broader semiconductor selloff after Samsung earnings triggered risk-off trading across the group. Intel and Applied Materials Dive 10%, AMD Craters 8% as Samsung Earnings Trigger Chip Selloff

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $569.65.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AMAT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.