Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: 34 analysts rate Applied Materials a “Moderate Buy” (27 buys, 7 holds) with an average 1‑year price target of $370.07, and several firms have raised targets up to $500.
• Quarterly results: AMAT reported $2.38 EPS (beat $2.21) and $7.01B revenue (beat $6.88B), set Q2 2026 guidance of $2.44–$2.84, and trades at roughly a 40x PE with a market cap of about $310.6B.
• Capital moves: the company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.53 (annualized $2.12, yield ~0.5%), insiders sold ~12,003 shares in the past 90 days, and institutional ownership stands at ~80.56% with large recent inflows from major investors.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirty-four analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $370.0714.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group upped their target price on Applied Materials from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Summit Insights upgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $391.38 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average is $368.64 and its 200-day moving average is $307.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $310.60 billion, a PE ratio of 40.06, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.66. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $151.51 and a fifty-two week high of $420.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 11.11 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,869,170,000 after acquiring an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $86,610,000 after buying an additional 3,357,167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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