Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Up 3.1% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price was up 3.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $252.66 and last traded at $249.97. Approximately 8,785,907 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 14% from the average daily volume of 7,702,863 shares. The stock had previously closed at $242.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 14th. Daiwa Capital Markets reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (down previously from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.04.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $200.77 billion, a PE ratio of 30.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.85.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.5% during the third quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 657 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 3.0% during the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.