Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 1.4% – Here’s Why

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price dropped 1.4% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $386.20 and last traded at $389.08. Approximately 4,547,606 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 7,208,131 shares. The stock had previously closed at $394.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AMAT. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group set a $430.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.29.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $308.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.66. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $368.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,731,523,000 after purchasing an additional 330,197 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after acquiring an additional 373,012 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $2,858,543,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.