Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 3.7% – Time to Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares rose 3.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $641.18 and last traded at $640.18. 10,441,349 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 35% from the average session volume of 7,747,838 shares. The stock had previously closed at $617.11.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. B. Riley Financial raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.45.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $508.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.11, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $451.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $365.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials’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. Analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 189,767 shares of company stock worth $107,769,409 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings 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 worth $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 617.2% in the 3rd 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 valued at $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its position in Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $86,610,000 after purchasing 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

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.