Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Buys 7,061 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ lifted its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 264,856 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,061 shares during the quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $90,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna increased their target price on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $541.06.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc turned more constructive ahead of Applied Materials’ upcoming Q3 earnings, helping fuel a surge in the stock as traders bet on strong near-term results and continued AI-related demand. Why Applied Materials Shares Are Surging Monday
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple firms raised their price targets, including KeyBanc and Bank of America, with one note lifting its target to a Street-high level and reinforcing a bullish outlook for AMAT. Bank of America Just Gave Applied Materials Stock a New Street-High Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials was added to the Russell Top 50 index, which could increase passive-fund ownership and broaden investor attention. Applied Materials (AMAT) Joins Russell Top 50 After Leaving Value Indexes
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from market strategists noted that much of the good news may already be priced in after AMAT’s strong run, raising the risk that any earnings disappointment could trigger volatility. This Analyst Sees 20% Upside For AMAT Stock – Says High Expectations Around Applied Materials’ Businesses Create Short-Term Risk
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts cautioned that expectations are now very high after the stock’s rapid rally, which could limit upside if Applied Materials does not deliver an especially strong earnings report. Applied Materials: Equipment Market Surge Priced Into Stock Price

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% 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 199,767 shares of company stock valued at $114,104,709. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 10.8%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $694.64 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $154.46 and a 1-year high of $708.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The business’s 50 day moving average is $479.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $381.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $551.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.22, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

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.