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

Key Points

• Swedbank AB reduced its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. by 3.1%, selling 117,936 shares, which now makes up about 0.7% of their portfolio.
• Applied Materials reported a quarterly EPS of $2.48, exceeding analysts' expectations and resulting in a 7.7% year-over-year revenue increase to $7.30 billion.
• Analysts have recently revised their ratings and target prices for Applied Materials, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.88.

Swedbank AB lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,745,605 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 117,936 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 0.7% of Swedbank AB's holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.47% of Applied Materials worth $543,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.4%

AMAT traded down $2.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $167.80. 5,167,090 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,142,924. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $177.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $215.70.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 21.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Cfra Research raised Applied Materials to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 target price for the company. Finally, DZ Bank lowered Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $192.92.

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.