Brice Hill Sells 2,500 Shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total transaction of $1,247,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 136,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,901,331.18. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Applied Materials Trading Down 9.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $453.01 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $359.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $510.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $408.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $342.31. 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 data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the first quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 531 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. One Day In July LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.4% during the first quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% during the first quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials continues to benefit from AI-related demand and a deeper push into advanced chip packaging, including its completed acquisition of ASMPT NEXX and expanded collaboration with SCREEN Semiconductor, which could support future growth in semiconductor equipment. Applied Materials Deepens AI Chip Packaging Push As Valuation Stretches
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s recent earnings results beat estimates, with stronger revenue and EPS, and management’s guidance plus recent analyst price-target increases continue to reinforce the bullish longer-term view.
• Neutral Sentiment: TipRanks noted insider trading activity in AMAT as part of a broader weekend update, adding to investor attention but not necessarily changing the fundamental outlook. Rigetti, McDonald’s, Applied Materials, GM, Rocket Lab Insiders Stir Buzz
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales by CFO Brice Hill and executive Prabu G. Raja may have pressured shares, as investors often view heavy insider selling cautiously even when the company’s outlook remains solid. Applied Materials CFO Sells Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks broadly sold off after the strong jobs report and broader chip-sector weakness tied to the AVGO earnings overhang, which appears to be dragging AMAT lower with the group. Applied Materials, Lam Research, and Nova Stocks Trade Down, What You Need To Know

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. HSBC started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price objective for the company. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $480.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.13.

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.