Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Down 1.8% – Time to Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares traded down 1.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $262.83 and last traded at $270.11. 6,931,728 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 9% from the average session volume of 7,636,378 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMAT. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Summit Insights cut Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $285.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.74.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $236.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $199.44. The company has a market capitalization of $206.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.86, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. The trade was a 12.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock worth $2,044,898. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

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.