Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $592.95 and last traded at $588.6010, with a volume of 133247 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $567.25.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. DZ Bank raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $483.03.

Applied Materials Stock Up 3.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $467.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.37, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $427.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $353.48.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. The firm’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, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.86, for a total value of $1,247,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 136,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,901,331.18. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.22, for a total transaction of $116,370.96. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $1,858,461.60. This represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Militia Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $295,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10.9% in the first quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 29,297 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $10,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,890 shares in the last quarter. First Nebraska Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $29,488,000. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $234,000. Finally, Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at $885,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.