Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 1.3% – What’s Next?

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) dropped 1.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $290.00 and last traded at $292.20. Approximately 6,072,247 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 7,815,205 shares. The stock had previously closed at $296.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $290.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Mizuho set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $250.11.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $238.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $253.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Traveka Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 657 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% in the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $673,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% during the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.