Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Director Sells $1,496,392.38 in Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the sale, the director owned 28,589 shares in the company, valued at $10,778,624.78. This represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.9%

Applied Materials stock opened at $375.72 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $395.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $314.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 outperformance and upgraded outlook drove conviction that demand for advanced-node and packaging tools remains strong — management beat estimates, gave solid Q2 guidance and highlighted 2nm/advanced?packaging revenue drivers. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 5.3% After Strong Q1, Export Deal And 2nm Push
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: Morgan Stanley raised its price target (to $432) and other brokers have lifted targets and ratings recently, supporting upside expectations vs. the market run. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Industry positioning: Coverage notes AMAT is scaling up exposure to logic, DRAM/HBM and hybrid?bonding/packaging tailwinds driven by AI, which supports multi?year bookings and margins. AMAT Scales Up Logic, DRAM & Advanced Packaging
• Neutral Sentiment: SPIE presentation and fund commentary highlighted technical innovation and that AMAT outperformed some mutual?fund portfolios, useful for medium?term narrative but unlikely to move price alone. Applied Materials Presents at SPIE 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Short?interest reports this week show anomalous/zero and NaN values — the published figures look unreliable and shouldn’t be treated as a clear bearish signal without confirmation from official exchanges.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CAO Adam Sanders (and other insiders) disclosed share sales (~534 shares), which can weigh on near?term sentiment even if routine. CAO Adam Sanders Form 4 TipRanks: Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Sector/peer weakness: Today’s pullback in several semiconductor-equipment and chip names is pressuring AMAT alongside profit?taking after a large one?year rally. MSN: Shares Falling — What You Need to Know

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Warther Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.