Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 2.7% – Here’s What Happened

by · The Markets Daily

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) shares traded up 2.7% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $393.18 and last traded at $387.59. Approximately 6,129,359 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 7,885,900 shares. The stock had previously closed at $377.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $683.00 to $641.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $740.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $650.00 to $590.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $632.70.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Applied Materials

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $307.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.41, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $467.37 and its 200-day moving average is $487.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.28%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth about $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $1,589,000. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 333.3% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,631,000 after buying an additional 19,886 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 3.0% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $729,211,000 after buying an additional 28,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 29.6% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $334,521,000 after buying an additional 105,776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Applied Materials, Inc is a technology company that supplies equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductors and advanced displays. Its products help customers fabricate the integrated circuits and other components used in computers, mobile devices, data centers, automobiles and a range of connected technologies.

The company’s offerings include systems for materials engineering, wafer fabrication, inspection and process control, along with equipment and services designed to improve manufacturing productivity and yield.

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