Adam Sanders Sells 534 Shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This trade represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Adam Sanders also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, December 1st, Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77.

Applied Materials Trading Up 4.5%

AMAT opened at $395.04 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $395.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $313.50 billion, a PE ratio of 40.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $312.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $247.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat, stronger outlook and product roadmap — AMAT reported Q1 results above expectations, issued solid Q2 guidance and flagged new transistor/materials engineering systems aimed at 2nm-and-beyond chips; management also announced a ~$252.5M export deal that supports near-term revenue visibility. Article
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher targets — Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $432 with an “overweight” rating (higher upside vs. the current level), adding to a wave of bullish target increases from other brokers that lift sentiment. Article
• Positive Sentiment: AI/HBM-driven demand and positioning — Coverage highlights AMAT’s central role in tools for deposition/film and advanced packaging as AI and HBM demand sustain bookings and backlog visibility, underpinning margins and long-term growth expectations. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational/PR wins — Applied recognized supplier partners with Supplier Excellence Awards (positive for supply chain resilience but unlikely to move near-term revenue materially). Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Market risk-on environment — Semicon-equipment names got a lift from a broader risk-on session (S&P/Nasdaq strength) that amplified AMAT’s earnings-driven rally. Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest note is ambiguous — A recent short-interest entry shows zero/NaN values and no meaningful short-days cover signal; it isn’t providing a clear opposite pressure to the rally. (Data entry appears unreliable.)
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Recent Form 4 filings show CAO Adam Sanders and Director Judy Bruner sold shares (reducing holdings ~10–12%), which can weigh on near‑term sentiment even if the sales may be routine diversification. CAO Adam Sanders Form 4 Director Judy Bruner Form 4

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. IFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1,008.1% during the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $6,619,000 after acquiring an additional 32,893 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 6.9% during the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $55,180,000 after purchasing an additional 17,397 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 23.0% during the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares during the period. Sienna Gestion grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 10.2% during the second quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 113,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,924,000 after purchasing an additional 10,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 13,360.6% in the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 694,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $127,129,000 after purchasing an additional 689,272 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group set a $430.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target 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-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.