Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock: Insider Adam Sanders Sells 725 Shares

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CAO Adam Sanders sold 725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.56, for a total value of $394,806.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,181 shares in the company, valued at $1,732,245.36. The trade was a 18.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $2.24 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $542.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,642,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,934,497. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $485.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $476.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $203.40 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The company has a market capitalization of $430.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $645.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $640.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,005,000. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $1,589,000. CX Institutional raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 333.3% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 25,853 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $12,631,000 after acquiring an additional 19,886 shares during the period. Evolve Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 59.0% in the 1st quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,008,591 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $729,211,000 after purchasing an additional 28,982 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a global supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat-panel displays and other advanced electronic products. Its technologies help customers build and enhance materials at the nanoscale, supporting processes such as deposition, etching, inspection, metrology and packaging.

The company’s offerings include semiconductor manufacturing systems, process-control and inspection equipment, and services designed to improve the performance, productivity and longevity of production equipment.