Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 4% – What’s Next?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price fell 4% during trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $373.25 and last traded at $374.53. Approximately 7,728,712 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 7,880,067 shares. The stock had previously closed at $390.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Mizuho decreased 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 report on Tuesday, August 25th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price target (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Argus set a $600.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $632.70.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 2.42. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $457.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $443.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $297.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total transaction of $394,806.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 25,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,877,960. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock worth $4,454,181. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,589,000. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 333.3% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,631,000 after buying an additional 19,886 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $729,211,000 after acquiring an additional 28,982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Applied Materials by 29.6% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 462,685 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $334,521,000 after buying an additional 105,776 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.