Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) CEO Sells 20,000 Shares

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CEO Gary Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total transaction of $14,704,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,599,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Applied Materials Trading Down 10.0%

NASDAQ AMAT traded down $72.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $650.91. 16,010,266 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,232,627. The stock has a market cap of $516.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $486.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $384.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Applied Materials, with Erste Group Bank raising FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates and maintaining a Buy rating, while Cantor Fitzgerald also lifted its price target to $850 and kept an Overweight rating.
• Positive Sentiment: The company has benefited from strong AI infrastructure spending and a broader rally in chip equipment stocks, helping fuel a record-setting run and a massive June gain. Article: Stock Of The Month: Applied Materials Notches Best Rally Since 1975
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary continues to frame AMAT as a key AI chip-equipment beneficiary, with multiple articles highlighting record highs and strong fundamentals, including better-than-expected quarterly results and upbeat guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Some traders are warning the stock may be overbought after its outsized run, and technical commentary suggests a reversal could happen after the sharp surge. Article: Stock Of The Day: Is This The Top For Applied Materials?
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market coverage noted that chip stocks were a weak spot even as the market moved higher, which may be pressuring sentiment around semiconductor names like Applied Materials. Article: Meta, CoreWeave, Salesforce, Corning, Bending Spoons, and More Stocks That Explain Today’s Market

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% during 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 buying an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after acquiring an additional 157,426 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price target on Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.56.

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.