Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 1.9% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) fell 1.9% during trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $491.83 and last traded at $497.53. 4,130,632 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 7,848,524 shares. The stock had previously closed at $507.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $675.00 to $695.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, Evercore increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $640.20.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $394.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $488.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $482.67.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $479.25, for a total transaction of $3,594,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,637,780.25. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 25,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,877,960. The trade was a 3.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,225 shares of company stock valued at $4,454,181. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.