Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) CAO Sells $202,471.44 in Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Adam Sanders also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, December 1st, Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of Applied Materials stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $375.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $314.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $395.95. The stock has a market cap of $298.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.46, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 15,629 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,016,000 after buying an additional 2,935 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $613,000. Tempo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $348,000. MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $839,000. Finally, SG Trading Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $252,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $400.00 in a report on Sunday, January 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $432.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 outperformance and upgraded outlook drove conviction that demand for advanced-node and packaging tools remains strong — management beat estimates, gave solid Q2 guidance and highlighted 2nm/advanced‑packaging revenue drivers. Applied Materials (AMAT) Is Up 5.3% After Strong Q1, Export Deal And 2nm Push
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: Morgan Stanley raised its price target (to $432) and other brokers have lifted targets and ratings recently, supporting upside expectations vs. the market run. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Industry positioning: Coverage notes AMAT is scaling up exposure to logic, DRAM/HBM and hybrid‑bonding/packaging tailwinds driven by AI, which supports multi‑year bookings and margins. AMAT Scales Up Logic, DRAM & Advanced Packaging
• Neutral Sentiment: SPIE presentation and fund commentary highlighted technical innovation and that AMAT outperformed some mutual‑fund portfolios, useful for medium‑term narrative but unlikely to move price alone. Applied Materials Presents at SPIE 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reports this week show anomalous/zero and NaN values — the published figures look unreliable and shouldn’t be treated as a clear bearish signal without confirmation from official exchanges.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CAO Adam Sanders (and other insiders) disclosed share sales (~534 shares), which can weigh on near‑term sentiment even if routine. CAO Adam Sanders Form 4 TipRanks: Insider Sales
• Negative Sentiment: Sector/peer weakness: Today’s pullback in several semiconductor-equipment and chip names is pressuring AMAT alongside profit‑taking after a large one‑year rally. MSN: Shares Falling — What You Need to Know

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.