Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 3.5% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price rose 3.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $614.14 and last traded at $595.70. 6,188,395 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average daily volume of 8,315,610 shares. The stock had previously closed at $575.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $593.84.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $454.05 billion, a PE ratio of 53.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.57. 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’s 50-day moving average is $528.23 and its 200-day moving average is $410.12.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 617.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,869,170,000 after acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $86,610,000 after purchasing an additional 3,357,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coatue Management LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 78.7% in the 4th quarter. Coatue Management LLC now owns 5,984,332 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,537,913,000 after buying an additional 2,635,284 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.