Judy Bruner Sells 2,500 Shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

February 28, 2026 by InsiderTrades.com

Key Points

Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 Applied Materials shares on Feb. 25 at an average price of $391.71 for about $979,275, leaving her with 26,089 shares (an 8.74% ownership reduction); she also sold 3,969 shares on Feb. 23 at $377.02 (~$1.50M).
Applied Materials beat expectations with quarterly EPS of $2.38 (vs. $2.21 expected) and revenue of $7.01B (vs. $6.88B), and issued Q2 FY2026 EPS guidance of $2.44–$2.84.
Analysts have raised price targets (several to the $400–$450 range) and the consensus rating is a Moderate Buy with a $363.46 target; the company also pays a $0.46 quarterly dividend (0.5% yield).

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director owned 26,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,219,322.19. This trade 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 accessible through this hyperlink.

The Supply Chain Quietly Powering the AI Boom—And 4 Ways to Play It

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 value of $1,496,392.38.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $372.30 on Friday. 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 fifty day moving average of $317.30 and a 200 day moving average of $249.53. The firm has a market cap of $295.46 billion, a PE ratio of 38.11, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $395.95.

3 Under-the-Radar Earnings Surprises Could Signal a New Trend

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) 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 business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Applied Materials News Summary

MarketBeat Week in Review – 02/09 - 02/13

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Susquehanna upgraded Applied Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $400.00 in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Applied Materials from $340.00 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 assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $363.46.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on AMAT

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 15,629 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $4,016,000 after acquiring an additional 2,935 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $613,000. Tempo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $348,000. MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $839,000. Finally, SG Trading Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $252,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.