Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 3.6% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Applied Materials shares fell 3.6% to $441.85 in midday trading, with about 7.1 million shares changing hands.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $658.45, despite mixed recent rating and target-price changes.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $3.50 and revenue of $9.12 billion, beating expectations and marking 24.8% year-over-year revenue growth; it also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) traded down 3.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $438.83 and last traded at $441.85. Approximately 7,102,127 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 8,164,674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $458.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Argus set a $600.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Craig Hallum increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $658.45.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $350.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.09, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $547.17 and a 200-day moving average of $458.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.28%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 284,192 shares of company stock valued at $172,625,209 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 52.4% in the fourth quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

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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