Brice Hill Sells 7,500 Shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 128,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,637,780.25. The trade was a 5.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Brice Hill also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, June 3rd, Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total transaction of $1,247,150.00.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $461.67 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $550.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $456.77. The company has a market cap of $366.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.28%.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor and AI demand remains strong: Recent coverage highlights Applied Materials’ $9.12 billion third-quarter revenue, up 25% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.50, up 41%. Management cited record demand visibility from AI infrastructure, more than 10 new fab projects during the quarter and fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $10.25 billion. The company is also continuing share repurchases and investing $5 billion in its EPIC Center to accelerate semiconductor innovation. The AI Buildout Is Turning Applied Materials Into A Profit Machine
• Positive Sentiment: New board member adds semiconductor expertise: AMAT appointed Akash Palkhiwala, Qualcomm’s CFO and COO, to its board and Audit Committee. His finance, operations and industry experience could strengthen oversight as Applied Materials pursues growth tied to advanced logic, memory and AI chip production. Applied Materials Appoints Akash Palkhiwala to Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Options market signals elevated uncertainty: A new analysis says options pricing for roughly one year ahead implies a particularly wide potential trading range, extending materially below and above the current level. That suggests investors should expect significant volatility rather than providing a clear directional signal. How Far Applied Materials Stock Can Move In A Year
• Negative Sentiment: CFO share sale may weigh modestly on sentiment: CFO Brice Hill sold 7,500 AMAT shares for approximately $3.6 million, reducing his direct holdings by 5.51%. The sale does not alter the company’s operating outlook, but insider selling can create a limited short-term sentiment overhang. SEC Insider Transaction Filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $700.00 price objective (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $657.76.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,589,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $4,005,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.0% in the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $1,082,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 183.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $790,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.