Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 2.5% – Still a Buy?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price shot up 2.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $332.40 and last traded at $330.57. 7,283,078 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the average session volume of 8,128,418 shares. The stock had previously closed at $322.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AMAT. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho set a $370.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Craig Hallum restated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $315.15.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.5%

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $288.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $262.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The company had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.32 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,086,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 4,582 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.