Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $523.32 and last traded at $521.2340, with a volume of 1032906 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $492.17.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.53 per share, reinforcing confidence in its cash generation and capital-allocation strategy. Applied Materials Announces Cash Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment remains strong around AI-related semiconductor spending, with recent coverage highlighting Applied Materials as a beneficiary of rising chip equipment demand and upbeat analyst views. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Eyes Growing Southeast Asia Workforce by 25%
• Positive Sentiment: The broader semiconductor sector recovered after a recent selloff, helping lift Applied Materials alongside other equipment names such as KLA. Applied Materials and KLA Corporation Stocks Trade Up, What You Need To Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and valuation-focused articles note that AMAT has had a huge run over the past year, which may keep some investors cautious even as fundamentals remain strong. Should You Buy, Sell or Hold AMAT Stock After a 167% Rise in a Year?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling, including by the CFO, may create some investor concern about near-term valuation after the stock’s strong rally. Insider Selling: Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) CFO Sells $1,247,150.00 in Stock

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $480.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $575.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.13.

Applied Materials Trading Up 0.4%

The stock has a market cap of $392.34 billion, a PE ratio of 46.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.67. The business’s fifty day moving average is $412.01 and its 200 day moving average is $344.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.91%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,128 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $507,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,944,800. The trade was a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total value of $1,247,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 136,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,901,331.18. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 53,896 shares of company stock valued at $27,135,121 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after acquiring an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.