Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 4.2% – What’s Next?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares fell 4.2% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $320.69 and last traded at $323.12. 6,543,193 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 7,776,845 shares. The stock had previously closed at $337.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $430.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, DZ Bank raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $345.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.78. 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 firm has a market cap of $256.43 billion, a PE ratio of 33.07, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.