Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 1.7% – Time to Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price rose 1.7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $228.16 and last traded at $224.01. Approximately 8,578,164 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 12% from the average daily volume of 7,690,224 shares. The stock had previously closed at $220.23.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Wolfe Research lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Mizuho cut their target price on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.74.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $178.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $218.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $189.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.08, for a total value of $936,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 88,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,681,202.08. The trade was a 4.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IFG Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1,008.1% in the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 36,156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $6,619,000 after buying an additional 32,893 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its position in Applied Materials by 23.0% during the second quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 12,643 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,363 shares during the last quarter. Sienna Gestion boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 10.2% in the second quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 113,221 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $18,924,000 after acquiring an additional 10,468 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 13,360.6% in the second quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 694,431 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $127,129,000 after purchasing an additional 689,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the second quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 501,587 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $91,826,000 after purchasing an additional 35,437 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.