Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Director Judy Bruner Sells 1,128 Shares of Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $449.68. 5,642,485 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,317,683. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.47 and a 12-month high of $462.40. The company has a market capitalization of $357.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.22, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $393.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $331.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its Overweight rating on Applied Materials and raised its price target to $575, signaling confidence that the shares still have meaningful upside from current levels. Applied Materials analyst rating update
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are still digesting Applied Materials’ recently reported beat-and-raise quarter, including better-than-expected revenue and EPS plus higher Q3 guidance, which supports the view that demand for semiconductor equipment remains strong. Applied Materials beats estimates and raises outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ partnerships with Broadcom and SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions on advanced chip packaging and wafer cleaning at the EPIC Center reinforce its role in AI infrastructure and could drive longer-term growth. Applied Materials partners with SCREEN to bring advanced wafer cleaning technologies to EPIC Center
• Neutral Sentiment: A transcript from Applied Materials’ Bernstein conference appearance may provide additional detail on management’s outlook, but it is more of a follow-up source than a fresh market-moving catalyst. Applied Materials presents at Bernstein conference transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling by CAO Adam Sanders was relatively small and does not appear material enough on its own to change the investment story. Applied Materials CAO sells shares
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary noted that momentum stocks can cool after extended runs, which may add caution for a name like AMAT after its sharp move higher. Momentum stocks look unstoppable, look again

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.13.

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.