Key Points
- Applied Materials insider Prabu Raja sold 10,000 shares on June 18 at an average price of $633.53, for proceeds of about $6.34 million. After the sale, Raja still owned 346,642 shares, a 2.8% reduction in his position.
- The stock has been surging and trading near its 52-week high, with shares up 3.7% and opening at $640.18. Applied Materials also reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates and raising its Q3 2026 guidance.
- Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with multiple firms raising price targets and the consensus rating at “Moderate Buy.” The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, payable September 10.
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) insider Prabu Raja sold 10,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
Applied Materials Trading Up 3.7%
NASDAQ AMAT opened at $640.18 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $641.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $455.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $368.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $508.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.11, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.67.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.39 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Applied Materials Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.
Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials
Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $502.00 price target (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research cut Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Truist Financial set a $575.00 target price on Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $495.45.
Read Our Latest Report on Applied Materials
Institutional Trading of Applied Materials
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,869,170,000 after buying an additional 7,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased 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 worth $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in Applied Materials by 25,824.4% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $86,610,000 after buying an additional 3,357,167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.
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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