Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 1.2% – Time to Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) traded up 1.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $269.15 and last traded at $268.63. 7,882,650 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 7,684,792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $265.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cfra Research raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (down previously from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.74.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.88, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $231.26 and a 200-day moving average of $195.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 38,693.3% in the first quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 5,819 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 5,804 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 23.0% in the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares in the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 2.4% during the first quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,535,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $346,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.