Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 3.6% – Should You Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares fell 3.6% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $279.45 and last traded at $281.64. 5,274,609 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 7,322,197 shares. The stock had previously closed at $292.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, October 13th. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.78.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.6%

The company has a market cap of $223.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $251.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

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

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.