Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 1.4% After Dividend Announcement

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) traded up 1.4% during trading on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $350.75 and last traded at $346.18. 4,419,941 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 7,893,164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.53.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Summit Insights raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $274.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.43, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $334.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.17.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This trade represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Applied Materials

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.