Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 3.6% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) fell 3.6% on Monday . The company traded as low as $493.64 and last traded at $516.89. Approximately 7,991,286 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 8,251,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $536.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $599.19.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $410.39 billion, a PE ratio of 48.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $544.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $424.08.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total value of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This represents a 4.06% 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, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 34.8% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 93 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 218.8% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 102 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.