Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 5.8% – What’s Next?

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) rose 5.8% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $342.06 and last traded at $341.79. Approximately 8,228,438 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 5% from the average daily volume of 7,814,157 shares. The stock had previously closed at $323.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Bank of America upped their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $430.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $277.25 billion, a PE ratio of 35.67, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $346.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $279.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm 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 business’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.