Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Price Up 4.2% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares were up 4.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $267.05 and last traded at $265.33. Approximately 9,136,576 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 19% from the average daily volume of 7,681,128 shares. The stock had previously closed at $254.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Bank of America raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $225.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.26. The stock has a market cap of $211.37 billion, a PE ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.67. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Applied Materials by 225.4% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,046,057,000 after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $1,604,002,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,129,483 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,869,170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,856,576 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,409,320,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter worth $1,085,600,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.