Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 1.4% Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) were up 1.4% during trading on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $350.75 and last traded at $346.18. Approximately 4,419,941 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 7,893,164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.53.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Erste Group Bank assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. DZ Bank raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 16th. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Applied Materials to an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.46.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $274.73 billion, a PE ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $334.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.17.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,322.19. This represents a 8.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fund Advisors of America Inc FL bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $316,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $21,149,000 after buying an additional 3,508 shares during the last quarter. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $562,000. DUTCH ASSET Corp bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $947,000. Finally, Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $380,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.