Nordea Investment Management AB Grows Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,329,966 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,294 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $427,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Shelton Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% in the second quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $622,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the second quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.8% in the second quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,958 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the second quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $227.72 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $185.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $232.07. The company has a market cap of $181.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.82.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.08.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.