Key Points
- Applied Materials CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares on May 22 for about $116,371, leaving him with 4,280 shares after the transaction.
- The company reported strong fiscal Q2 results, with EPS of $2.86 and revenue of $7.91 billion, both above analyst expectations and up 11.4% year over year.
- Applied Materials raised its quarterly dividend from $0.46 to $0.53 per share and boosted Q3 2026 guidance, signaling management confidence in continued business strength.
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total value of $116,370.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.
Applied Materials Trading Up 5.3%
Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $454.89 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.47 and a 12 month high of $456.78. The company has a market cap of $361.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $391.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $329.61.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.
Applied Materials Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. B. Riley Financial upped their target price on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $502.00 target price (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Summit Insights raised Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Applied Materials from $435.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $465.14.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Applied Materials
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,731,523,000 after buying an additional 330,197 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Applied Materials by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after buying an additional 373,012 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $2,858,543,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Key Applied Materials News
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials reported fiscal Q2 sales of $7.91 billion and net income of $2.81 billion, topping expectations and showing continued solid execution. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 11.8% After Raising Q3 Outlook And Expanding AI Packaging Alliance
- Positive Sentiment: The company lifted Q3 2026 revenue guidance to about $8.95 billion, suggesting management sees ongoing strength in semiconductor spending. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 11.8% After Raising Q3 Outlook And Expanding AI Packaging Alliance
- Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials expanded its AI packaging and process innovation efforts, including new collaboration with partners such as Broadcom and SCREEN Semiconductor Solutions, which could support longer-term growth in advanced chip packaging. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 11.8% After Raising Q3 Outlook And Expanding AI Packaging Alliance
- Positive Sentiment: The newly announced SCREEN partnership at the EPIC Center adds another innovation partner focused on advanced wafer cleaning, which may help improve yields and accelerate next-generation chip production. Applied Materials Partners with SCREEN To Bring Advanced Wafer Cleaning Technologies to EPIC Center
- Neutral Sentiment: An insider filing showed CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares, but the transaction was small relative to his remaining stake and is unlikely to materially affect the stock. Applied Materials, Inc. CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares
- Negative Sentiment: A broad market commentary piece warned that momentum stocks can reverse after strong runs, which may temper enthusiasm for recently extended winners like AMAT. Intel, AMD, and Other Momentum Stocks Look Unstoppable. Look Again.
About Applied Materials
(
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.
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