Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 2.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $508.26 and last traded at $500.77. Approximately 8,246,938 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 12% from the average daily volume of 7,361,466 shares. The stock had previously closed at $490.05.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have commented on AMAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $415.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $470.13.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AMAT
Applied Materials Trading Up 2.2%
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 firm has a market cap of $397.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.02, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.67. The company's 50 day moving average is $399.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $335.80.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.
Applied Materials Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,944,800. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of Applied Materials
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third 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 buying an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $86,610,000 after buying an additional 3,357,167 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.
About Applied Materials
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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