Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 238,907 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 217,628 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $48,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $1,604,002,000. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,409,320,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 72.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1,704.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,439,598 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $499,483,000 after buying an additional 2,304,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 417.3% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,732,015 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $317,053,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397,217 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, B. Riley Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price (up previously from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Twenty-eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $361.03.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

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

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $354.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $281.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $296.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.28. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $376.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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.

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.