Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Reaches New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Applied Materials shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $639.52 as the stock continued its recent surge.
• Wall Street sentiment remains upbeat, with several analysts raising price targets and 27 analysts rating the stock a Buy versus eight Holds; the consensus target is $495.45.
• Recent fundamentals were strong, as the company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $639.52 and last traded at $627.8710, with a volume of 958795 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $617.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, B. Riley Financial increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $495.45.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.7%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $498.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $451.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $365.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. The firm'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. On average, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 146,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 189,767 shares of company stock worth $107,769,409. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 531 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. One Day In July LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.4% during the first quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 2,082 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% during the first quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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