Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Falls 2% – What’s Next?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price was down 2% on Tuesday. The stock traded as low as $399.03 and last traded at $404.98. Approximately 6,799,414 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 14% from the average session volume of 7,881,442 shares. The stock had previously closed at $413.11.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Evercore set a $590.00 target price on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 target price (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, HSBC cut their price target on Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 14th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $324.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.60. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $473.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $487.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,589,000. CX Institutional boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 333.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.0% during 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 buying an additional 28,982 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.