Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Down 3.6% – Should You Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price was down 3.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $438.83 and last traded at $441.85. 7,102,127 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 8,164,674 shares. The stock had previously closed at $458.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and set a $683.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, August 3rd. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $658.45.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $547.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $458.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $350.65 billion, a PE ratio of 38.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 38.02% and a net margin of 30.05%.Applied Materials’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This trade represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 284,192 shares of company stock valued at $172,625,209. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,589,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,005,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 59.0% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,082,000. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 183.7% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.