Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Applied Materials hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $592.95 after closing previously at $567.25, and finished the session up about 3.7%.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with multiple firms raising price targets and 27 analysts rating the stock a Buy versus 8 Hold ratings; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy.
• The company continues to show solid fundamentals, having beaten its latest earnings and revenue estimates, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share payable on September 10.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $592.95 and last traded at $588.6010, with a volume of 133247 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $567.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $502.00 price objective (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $483.03.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.7%

The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business's 50-day moving average is $427.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.48. The firm has a market cap of $467.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 19.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $507,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,944,800. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total transaction of $1,247,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 136,113 shares of the company's stock, valued at $67,901,331.18. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Militia Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $295,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its position in Applied Materials by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 29,297 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $10,013,000 after buying an additional 2,890 shares in the last quarter. First Nebraska Trust Co acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,488,000. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $234,000. Finally, Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $885,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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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