Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Up 4.4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Applied Materials shares rose 4.4% to $464.24 in midday trading, with volume 14% above the average session level.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $658.45, despite some firms recently cutting their targets.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, including $3.50 in EPS and $9.12 billion in revenue, up 24.8% year over year; it also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 4.4% on Monday . The company traded as high as $468.51 and last traded at $464.24. Approximately 9,153,488 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 14% from the average session volume of 8,049,521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $444.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on AMAT. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $720.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Applied Materials from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $700.00 target price (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $658.45.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The business's 50 day moving average price is $498.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $466.19. The stock has a market cap of $368.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. The business's revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary Dickerson sold 58,321 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $700.36, for a total transaction of $40,845,695.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,619,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,134,473,243.48. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 86,821 shares of company stock valued at $59,609,471 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,212,518 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $57,993,650,000 after buying an additional 1,237,685 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,746,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558,749 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,945,840 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,298,991,000 after purchasing an additional 681,274 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a global provider of materials engineering solutions used to manufacture semiconductors, displays and other advanced electronic products. The company develops and supplies equipment, services and software that help customers build and improve the performance of chips and display panels.

Its semiconductor products support processes including deposition, etch, patterning, inspection, metrology and materials modification. Applied Materials also provides equipment and services for display manufacturing, including technologies used in producing liquid-crystal and organic light-emitting diode displays, as well as solutions for adjacent markets such as solar and other specialty applications.

Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials serves semiconductor and display manufacturers worldwide through operations, customer-support centers and research and development activities across major technology-producing regions.

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