SEB Asset Management AB Takes $175.04 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

SEB Asset Management AB bought a new position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 512,119 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $175,037,000. Applied Materials comprises about 0.7% of SEB Asset Management AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. SEB Asset Management AB owned about 0.06% of Applied Materials at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evolve Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 59.0% during the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $21,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $1,082,000. Finally, Baker Chad R boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 76.6% during the fourth quarter. Baker Chad R now owns 16,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,297,000 after buying an additional 7,170 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the company’s growth outlook and AI-driven demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO comments reinforcing the AI investment thesis may help support longer-term sentiment around the stock. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that AMAT has been drawing increased attention from investors, but the piece was mainly a stock-screening update rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary suggested Applied Materials may be trading above fair value after a strong multi-year run, which could limit upside even if earnings remain solid. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: A broad semiconductor selloff is pressuring AMAT along with peers like AMD and Intel, as the market rotates out of chip stocks and into other areas. Article link

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 stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research upped their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. HSBC assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $525.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $529.66 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $533.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $413.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The firm has a market cap of $420.53 billion, a PE ratio of 49.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.