Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) CAO Sells 725 Shares of Company Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,732,245.36. This represents a 18.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.4%

Applied Materials stock traded up $2.24 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $542.28. The stock had a trading volume of 4,642,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,934,497. The stock has a market capitalization of $430.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $485.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $476.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $203.40 and a 1-year high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The business’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $710.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $642.00 to $563.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $640.20.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,589,000. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 333.3% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,631,000 after purchasing an additional 19,886 shares during the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 59.0% during the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $729,211,000 after purchasing an additional 28,982 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company’s offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.