Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 1.8% – Here’s Why

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) traded up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $463.88 and last traded at $458.17. 6,034,659 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 7,317,142 shares. The stock had previously closed at $450.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. HSBC began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price target for the company. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $502.00 target price (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.13.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $399.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $335.80. The company has a market capitalization of $389.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Applied Materials by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after acquiring an additional 330,197 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased 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 purchasing an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. Hedge funds and other 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.