KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Has $75.54 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS trimmed its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 368,941 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $75,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $32,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 68.9% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 179 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.1%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $296.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $250.18 and a 200-day moving average of $211.32. The stock has a market cap of $234.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $298.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors 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 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

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.