Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 3.5% Higher – Here’s Why

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) rose 3.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $359.00 and last traded at $353.80. Approximately 5,970,375 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 7,786,786 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.79.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $345.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $279.09. The stock has a market cap of $280.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total value of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 30.1% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VestGen Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 52.9% during the second quarter. VestGen Advisors LLC now owns 4,525 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.