Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Has $48.91 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lowered its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 47.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 238,907 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 217,628 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $48,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $410,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 7.5% during the second quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,391 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat and bullish market reaction — AMAT pushed to a new one‑year high after reporting quarterly results that topped estimates and prompted buying interest. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Hits New 1-Year High After Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Major analyst price-target increases — Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target to $470 (from $425), signaling higher modelled upside and boosting investor confidence. Applied Materials price target raised to $470 from $425 at Cantor Fitzgerald
• Positive Sentiment: Additional target raises — Needham and other outlets posted higher targets (e.g., Needham to $440), reinforcing the analyst momentum behind the stock. Applied Materials price target raised to $440 from $390 at Needham
• Positive Sentiment: Upgrades and buy reiterations — Several firms upgraded or reiterated buy calls (Summit Insights upgrade; B. Riley reiterated buy; RBC added a buy), adding analyst support to the rally. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Upgraded at Summit Insights Applied Materials’ (AMAT) Buy Rating Reiterated at B. Riley Securities Applied Materials (AMAT) Gets a Buy from RBC Capital
• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory/strategic clarity — Reports say AMAT cleared a U.S. probe and a refocused Samsung EPIC partnership, which reduces regulatory overhang and supports growth prospects. Applied Materials Clears US Probe As Samsung EPIC Partnership Refocuses Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Sector and thematic support — Industry pieces highlight AMAT as a key play on memory and AI-related capex, drawing thematic investor interest into memory/equipment names. Applied Materials Shows Why Memory Stocks Are the Next Big AI Buying Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed chip‑sector context — Coverage notes the semiconductor group is mixed (AMAT and TSMC up, NVDA and Intel down); AMAT’s strength may reflect stock‑specific drivers more than broad sector momentum. Chip Stocks Split: AMAT and TSMC Gain While NVDA and Intel Retreat
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data appears erroneous — a February short‑interest entry shows zeros/NaN and provides no actionable signal; treat as unreliable until corrected.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Craig Hallum restated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, KGI Securities upgraded Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. Twenty-eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.03.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $354.91 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $376.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $296.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $238.28. The company has a market capitalization of $281.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.