Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shot up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $438.13 and last traded at $432.16. 4,796,883 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 7,349,367 shares. The stock had previously closed at $427.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $480.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $465.14.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.1%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $385.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $325.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $342.97 billion, a PE ratio of 40.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 17.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 7,003 shares of company stock worth $2,678,139 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $55,180,000 after acquiring an additional 17,397 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $635,057,000 after purchasing an additional 145,050 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,512,000 after acquiring an additional 12,132 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,801,000 after acquiring an additional 17,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,531,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.