Key Points
- Insider sale: Applied Materials insider Prabu Raja sold 50,000 shares on June 4 at an average price of $505.28, totaling about $25.3 million. After the sale, he still held 356,642 shares, a 12.3% reduction in ownership.
- Strong recent results: The company reported Q2 earnings of $2.86 per share and revenue of $7.91 billion, both above analyst expectations. Revenue rose 11.4% year over year, and Applied Materials guided Q3 2026 EPS to $3.16-$3.56.
- Dividend and analyst sentiment: Applied Materials raised its quarterly dividend to $0.53 from $0.46, lifting the annualized payout to $2.12 per share. Wall Street remains broadly positive, with 27 Buy ratings and a consensus price target of $470.13.
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total value of $1,247,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 136,113 shares in the company, valued at $67,901,331.18. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.
Applied Materials Stock Down 9.7%
Shares of AMAT opened at $453.01 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $510.75. 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 company has a market capitalization of $359.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.54, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.67. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $408.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $342.31.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. The company'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. On average, 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 paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $635,057,000 after acquiring an additional 145,050 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 82.2% during the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,512,000 after acquiring an additional 12,132 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 21.8% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $19,801,000 after acquiring an additional 17,288 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,531,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $21,149,000 after acquiring an additional 3,508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Barclays upped their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America upped their price target on Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, B. Riley Financial upped their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $470.13.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Applied Materials
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.
Further Reading
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