Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 2.1% on Analyst Upgrade

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price shot up 2.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after B. Riley raised their price target on the stock from $270.00 to $305.00. B. Riley currently has a buy rating on the stock. Applied Materials traded as high as $260.82 and last traded at $253.50. 8,429,972 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 7,624,967 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.27.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on AMAT. Craig Hallum reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $250.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.78.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,095,782.24. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $238.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $201.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.01 billion, a PE ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.Applied Materials’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.