Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Acquires 6,344 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ increased its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 257,172 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,344 shares during the quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $52,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.04.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $375.38 on Friday. 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 $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $377.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $304.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $243.13. The firm has a market cap of $297.95 billion, a PE ratio of 38.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.83%.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings beat + aggressive guidance: AMAT’s Feb. quarter topped estimates and management issued strong growth commentary (management projected robust 2026 sales and raised near‑term outlook), which is the fundamental catalyst behind renewed analyst optimism and higher targets. Zacks Analyst Blog
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and target increases: Zacks moved AMAT to Strong Buy and major brokers (Goldman, UBS, Barclays, Stifel, Susquehanna) have lifted price targets — these research moves increase buy‑side conviction and can drive follow‑on flows. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Considered a Good Investment by Brokers
• Positive Sentiment: Heavy bullish options activity: reported large volume of call purchases (well above typical daily levels) implies traders are positioning for more upside or hedging existing longs — such flows can amplify short‑term moves. Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Applied Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor events scheduled: management will appear at upcoming conferences — useful for more detail/Q&A but not an immediate earnings shock. Investor Conferences
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports look unreliable: published data showing zero/NaN short interest and 0.0 days‑to‑cover are likely reporting errors and should be ignored for positioning.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares (~$1.8M). Routine liquidity sales are common, but some investors interpret insider selling as a mild cautionary signal. SEC Form 4

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,609 shares of company stock worth $2,914,628 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.