Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 1.3% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Applied Materials shares fell 1.3% to $391.62 on Monday on lighter-than-average volume (3.73M vs. a 7.36M average).
• Wall Street is mostly bullish with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.29, though several firms raised targets as high as $470 (e.g., Cantor Fitzgerald $470, Stifel $450, Wells Fargo $435).
• The company beat Q1 estimates (EPS $2.38 vs. $2.21; revenue $7.01B vs. $6.88B), set Q2 guidance of $2.44–2.84 EPS, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report)'s share price traded down 1.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $390.38 and last traded at $391.62. 3,731,134 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average session volume of 7,356,456 shares. The stock had previously closed at $396.94.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $368.29.

Applied Materials Trading Down 1.3%

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $359.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $295.82. The stock has a market cap of $310.79 billion, a PE ratio of 40.08, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 11.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 28,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 6.9% during the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $55,180,000 after buying an additional 17,397 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Applied Materials by 4.9% during 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 buying an additional 145,050 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $19,801,000 after purchasing an additional 17,288 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 82.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $1,531,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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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