Swedbank AB Sells 397,625 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Swedbank AB reduced its position in Applied Materials by 11.8% in Q4, selling 397,625 shares and retaining 2,963,918 shares (about 0.37% ownership), making AMAT its 22nd largest holding.
• Applied Materials beat Q1 expectations with $2.38 EPS on $7.01 billion revenue, provided Q2 guidance of $2.44–$2.84 EPS, and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with several analysts raising price targets.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12) and agreed to acquire NEXX to broaden its advanced packaging technology exposure.

Swedbank AB decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,963,918 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 397,625 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for 0.7% of Swedbank AB's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Swedbank AB owned about 0.37% of Applied Materials worth $761,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,096 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,053,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $410.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $151.51 and a fifty-two week high of $420.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $369.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $308.46. The company has a market capitalization of $326.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.05, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.66.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% 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. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $370.86.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $454 and kept an "overweight" rating, signaling more upside from current levels and likely supporting buying interest. Morgan Stanley raises AMAT price target to $454 (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials agreed to acquire NEXX (from ASMPT) to broaden its panel‑level advanced packaging tech — strengthens AMAT’s exposure to AI accelerator packaging, a high‑growth end market. Applied Materials Broadens Advanced Packaging Portfolio with Acquisition of NEXX (GlobeNewswire)
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage and news pieces highlight AMAT’s strong history of earnings surprises and argue the company has the key ingredients to beat again — this raises the probability of another upside EPS surprise and helps near‑term sentiment. Will Applied Materials (AMAT) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report? (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector momentum: chip stocks rallied sharply in April, which benefits large equipment suppliers like AMAT via sentiment and multiple expansion — positive tailwind but indirect. Chip Stocks Soared 70%+ in April. Have They Gone Too Far? (247wallst)
• Neutral Sentiment: Peer earnings beats (Advanced Energy, Lattice Semiconductor) show AI/data‑center demand lifting equipment and component suppliers — supportive context but not company‑specific. Advanced Energy Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Another peer, Lattice, beat Q1 estimates; such results can validate demand trends AMAT operates in but don’t directly change AMAT fundamentals. Lattice Semiconductor Q1 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates (Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: An ACM Research article in your feed is company‑specific to ACMR (not AMAT) and discusses revenue growth vs. margin pressure — peripheral to AMAT but part of the broader equipment ecosystem newsflow. ACM Research to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock? (Yahoo)

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.

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.