Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Up 5% – Here’s Why

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price traded up 5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $244.62 and last traded at $242.46. 8,100,976 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 5% from the average session volume of 7,696,403 shares. The stock had previously closed at $230.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMAT. Bank of America upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 14th. Summit Insights lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.04.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $199.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.