Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS Makes New Investment in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,308 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,131,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 218.8% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $570.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $525.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Peer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing announced plans to raise chipmaking prices by up to 10% in 2027, while wafer supplier IQE lifted guidance, reinforcing expectations for strong AI and data-center chip demand and more equipment spending across the semiconductor supply chain. Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ installed base services business appears to be a growing recurring-revenue engine, with Applied Global Services revenue rising to $1.665 billion from $1.42 billion a year earlier as fab utilization improves. Is AMAT’s Installed Base Business Built for Long-Term Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary continues to point to AI-driven semiconductor growth as a tailwind for AMAT, with analysts highlighting the company as a beneficiary of sustained demand for advanced chips and manufacturing equipment. 3 Stocks to Buy From the Prospering Semiconductor Industry
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials also joined CuspAI’s AI Materials Foundry as a founding member, a strategic move that could support long-term materials discovery efforts, though it is not an immediate earnings catalyst. Applied Materials (AMAT) Joins CuspAI Foundry To Speed Semiconductor Materials Discovery
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary flagged seasonal weakness for AMAT heading into late July, which could temper momentum if investors focus on near-term trading patterns. Three Stocks Just Flashed Seasonal Signals

Applied Materials Trading Up 7.4%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $564.55 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $537.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $418.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $448.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

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.