Insider Selling: Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Insider Sells 10,000 Shares

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) insider Prabu Raja sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total transaction of $6,335,300.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 346,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Applied Materials Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $23.07 on Monday, hitting $640.18. 10,447,202 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,747,989. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $451.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $365.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $641.18. The company has a market cap of $508.28 billion, a PE ratio of 60.11, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after acquiring an additional 157,426 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $502.00 price objective (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho upped their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Argus increased their price target on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.45.

Applied Materials News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target on Applied Materials to $710 from $550 and kept a Buy rating, signaling stronger confidence in the company’s semiconductor equipment business and supporting the stock’s premium valuation. A Growing Supply Gap Has Analysts Eyeing Applied Materials (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a long-term deal with EssilorLuxottica to develop augmented reality display technology and AI glasses, expanding its exposure to a new growth market beyond traditional chip tools. Applied Materials (AMAT) and EssilorLuxottica Sign Long-Term Deal, Reuters Reports
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage notes that AI demand is helping justify AMAT’s elevated valuation, with investors still willing to bid up shares despite concerns that the stock looks expensive on traditional metrics. Applied Materials Is Now More Expensive Than Its Dot-Com Era Peak. AI Demand Justifies the AMAT Stock Valuation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary highlighting that AMAT is among the more overvalued quantum-computing-related stocks and trades at a forward P/E of 37.54 may temper enthusiasm, but it has not yet outweighed the bullish news flow. A Growing Supply Gap Has Analysts Eyeing Applied Materials (AMAT)

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.