Applied Materials (AMAT) – Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Updates

Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) recently received a number of ratings updates from brokerages and research firms:

• 5/12/2026 – Applied Materials had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Royal Bank Of Canada. They now have a $500.00 price target on the stock.
• 5/12/2026 – Applied Materials had its price target raised by Citigroup Inc. from $420.00 to $520.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 5/11/2026 – Applied Materials had its price target raised by Cantor Fitzgerald from $500.00 to $550.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 5/8/2026 – Applied Materials is now covered by HSBC Holdings plc. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price target on the stock.
• 5/5/2026 – Applied Materials had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $432.00 to $454.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 5/4/2026 – Applied Materials is now covered by Seaport Research Partners. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock.
• 5/4/2026 – Applied Materials had its price target raised by UBS Group AG from $430.00 to $480.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 5/4/2026 – Applied Materials was upgraded by Seaport Research Partners to “strong-buy”.
• 4/27/2026 – Applied Materials was downgraded by Zacks Research from “strong-buy” to “hold”.
• 4/27/2026 – Applied Materials was upgraded by Erste Group Bank AG from “hold” to “buy”.
• 4/13/2026 – Applied Materials had its price target raised by B. Riley Financial, Inc. from $450.00 to $485.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 4/9/2026 – Applied Materials had its price target raised by Susquehanna from $435.00 to $500.00. They now have a “positive” rating on the stock.
• 3/27/2026 – Applied Materials had its “buy (b-)” rating reaffirmed by Weiss Ratings.
• 3/24/2026 – Applied Materials was upgraded by Erste Group Bank AG to “hold”.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.