Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $525.70, but opened at $564.95. Applied Materials shares last traded at $558.5640, with a volume of 1,005,525 shares changing hands.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $517.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Applied Materials
Applied Materials Trading Up 7.3%
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.
Applied Materials Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Trading of Applied Materials
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,731,523,000 after acquiring an additional 330,197 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after purchasing an additional 373,012 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,858,543,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 10,688,232 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,746,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558,749 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.
Featured Articles
- Five stocks we like better than Applied Materials
- IREN’s $2.8 Billion AI Contract Haul Changes the Stock’s Story
- Alphabet Is Planning a New AI Chip. Here’s Why It Matters Ahead of Earnings
- Microsoft’s AI Bet Could Rewrite AMD’s Growth Story
- Travelers Stock Surges 10% as Earnings Beat Reveals Underwriting Discipline
Receive News & Ratings for Applied Materials Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Applied Materials and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
