Applied Materials Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• Applied Materials experienced a significant increase in call options trading, with 48,077 options purchased, representing a 57% rise over the typical daily volume.
• Several hedge funds have made substantial investments in Applied Materials, with Norges Bank and Sanders Capital LLC acquiring stakes valued at approximately $1.6 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46, which will be paid on December 11, reflecting a 1.0% dividend yield based on an annualized payout of $1.84.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 48,077 call options on the company. This is an increase of 57% compared to the average volume of 30,534 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (down previously from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Summit Insights cut shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $194.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Shelton Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.5% in the second quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,398 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,433 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.7% during the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,958 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the second quarter. Encompass Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,601 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Up 5.5%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $10.42 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $200.52. The stock had a trading volume of 15,467,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,526,588. The company's 50 day moving average price is $176.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. Applied Materials has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $215.70. The firm has a market cap of $159.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.77.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.