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

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $523.32 and last traded at $521.2340, with a volume of 1032906 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $492.17.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.53 per share, reinforcing confidence in its cash generation and capital-allocation strategy. Applied Materials Announces Cash Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment remains strong around AI-related semiconductor spending, with recent coverage highlighting Applied Materials as a beneficiary of rising chip equipment demand and upbeat analyst views. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Eyes Growing Southeast Asia Workforce by 25%
• Positive Sentiment: The broader semiconductor sector recovered after a recent selloff, helping lift Applied Materials alongside other equipment names such as KLA. Applied Materials and KLA Corporation Stocks Trade Up, What You Need To Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and valuation-focused articles note that AMAT has had a huge run over the past year, which may keep some investors cautious even as fundamentals remain strong. Should You Buy, Sell or Hold AMAT Stock After a 167% Rise in a Year?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider selling, including by the CFO, may create some investor concern about near-term valuation after the stock’s strong rally. Insider Selling: Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) CFO Sells $1,247,150.00 in Stock

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. Argus raised their target price on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Needham & Company LLC raised 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. DZ Bank raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $470.13.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market cap of $392.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $412.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $344.99.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,461.60. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. The trade was a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,896 shares of company stock worth $27,135,121. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during 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.