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

Key Points

• Applied Materials hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $455.83 after closing at $432.16 the prior day, reflecting strong recent momentum in the stock.
• Several analysts raised price targets on AMAT, with firms like KeyCorp, RBC, Argus, and Barclays lifting targets to as high as $550; the consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with a $465.14 price target.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share from $0.46.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $455.83 and last traded at $454.14, with a volume of 2197375 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $432.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $465.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $388.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $328.11. The stock has a market cap of $360.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.66.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $635,057,000 after acquiring an additional 145,050 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan lifted its position in Applied Materials by 82.2% during the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,512,000 after purchasing an additional 12,132 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% in the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $19,801,000 after acquiring an additional 17,288 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $1,531,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $21,149,000 after acquiring an additional 3,508 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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