Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 5.6% – Here’s What Happened

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price fell 5.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $348.59 and last traded at $351.32. 7,780,828 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 6% from the average session volume of 8,237,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $372.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho increased their target price on Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Craig Hallum restated a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $315.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $323.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.74. The firm has a market cap of $275.01 billion, a PE ratio of 35.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.65.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. Applied Materials’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total value of $979,275.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Warther Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 2,208 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $567,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

About Applied Materials

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.