Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 3.5% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) were up 3.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $359.00 and last traded at $353.80. Approximately 5,970,375 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 7,786,786 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Erste Group Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a report on Sunday, January 11th. KGI Securities raised shares of Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $280.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $345.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.09.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Old North State Trust LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $240,000. Forty three Eighteen Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $2,533,000. Fund Advisors of America Inc FL bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $316,000. World Investment Advisors increased its position in Applied Materials by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $21,149,000 after buying an additional 3,508 shares during the period. Finally, Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $562,000. 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.