Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $282.00 and last traded at $284.4490, with a volume of 2409334 shares. The stock had previously closed at $268.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AMAT. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. B. Riley raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. BNP Paribas upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Mizuho increased their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.78.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $247.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.29 billion, a PE ratio of 32.93, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.20%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 226.5% in the 4th quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 156,872 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $40,315,000 after buying an additional 108,822 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 19,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,019,000 after purchasing an additional 2,731 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 668 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its position in Applied Materials by 12.0% during the third quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 5,553,992 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,137,124,000 after purchasing an additional 596,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.4% during the third quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 7,209 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.