Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Falls 7.5% – What’s Next?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price dropped 7.5% during mid-day trading on Friday. The stock traded as low as $382.62 and last traded at $390.09. Approximately 10,240,768 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 30% from the average session volume of 7,880,454 shares. The stock had previously closed at $421.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. New Street Research dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective (up from $500.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Applied Materials Stock Down 7.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $309.58 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $459.78 and its 200-day moving average is $443.21. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total value of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. This trade represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 402.3% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 8,831 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,516,000 after buying an additional 7,073 shares in the last quarter. Third View Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Third View Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,597 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1,502.4% during the 3rd quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,336 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,729,000 after acquiring an additional 5,003 shares in the last quarter. One Day In July LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. One Day In July LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TrinityBridge Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. TrinityBridge Ltd now owns 6,216 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,180,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.