Insider Selling: Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Director Sells 2,500 Shares of Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Judy Bruner also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, February 23rd, Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of Applied Materials stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.9%

Applied Materials stock traded down $3.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $372.30. 9,035,405 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,319,385. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $395.95. The company has a market cap of $295.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $314.98 and a 200-day moving average of $248.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Craig Hallum reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade pushed the stock higher intraday — a broker upgrade cited improved fundamentals/visibility and sent shares up before broader market weakness set in. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 4.5% Higher After Analyst Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reiterated a bullish view with forecasts for strong price appreciation, reinforcing investor confidence that equipment makers like AMAT will benefit from sustained AI and memory capex. Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Industry research highlights that AI spending is shifting value to semiconductor equipment suppliers — a structural tailwind for AMAT as fabs invest in logic, DRAM, HBM and advanced packaging. The AI spending boom is creating winners beyond the ‘Mag 7.’ Why one sector could see big gains.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary (Zacks) notes AMAT is scaling up exposure to logic, DRAM and advanced packaging (GAA, hybrid bonding, HBM), which supports multi?year revenue growth assumptions. AMAT Scales Up Logic, DRAM & Advanced Packaging: What’s Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor Q: “Is it too late?” coverage and articles looking at valuation after a big one?year run can increase profit?taking; these pieces examine multiples and momentum without new company fundamentals. Is It Too Late To Consider Applied Materials (AMAT) After A 130% One Year Surge?
• Neutral Sentiment: Questions about outperforming benchmarks—coverage comparing AMAT to the S&P 500—are framing some investors’ benchmark/rebalancing decisions rather than signaling near?term fundamental change. Is Applied Materials Stock Outperforming the S&P 500?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short?interest entries for late Feb look erroneous/incomplete (zeros/NaN); investors should treat those figures cautiously and watch for corrected filings. (Data reported 2/25–2/26)
• Negative Sentiment: Sector sell?off after Nvidia’s earnings created downward pressure—concerns about the sustainability of AI capex flow prompted a pullback in AMAT despite recent strength. A Look At Applied Materials (AMAT) Valuation After Sector Sell Off On AI Spending Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: News items grouping AMAT with other semiconductor names that are falling amplify momentum selling and may trigger short?term downside as traders reduce exposure. Applied Materials, Broadcom, Lam Research, Western Digital, and Allegro MicroSystems shares are falling, what you need to know

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.