Insider Selling: Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) CEO Sells $40,845,695.56 in Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CEO Gary Dickerson sold 58,321 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $700.36, for a total transaction of $40,845,695.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,619,843 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,473,243.48. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded down $72.09 on Wednesday, reaching $650.91. 16,010,266 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,232,627. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.46 and a fifty-two week high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $516.80 billion, a PE ratio of 61.12, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $486.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $384.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after acquiring an additional 17,829,377 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,858,543,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 617.2% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 7,856,576 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the period. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 25,824.4% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,370,167 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $86,610,000 after buying an additional 3,357,167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Applied Materials from $510.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Twenty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $553.56.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive on Applied Materials, with Erste Group Bank raising FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates and maintaining a Buy rating, while Cantor Fitzgerald also lifted its price target to $850 and kept an Overweight rating.
• Positive Sentiment: The company has benefited from strong AI infrastructure spending and a broader rally in chip equipment stocks, helping fuel a record-setting run and a massive June gain. Article: Stock Of The Month: Applied Materials Notches Best Rally Since 1975
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary continues to frame AMAT as a key AI chip-equipment beneficiary, with multiple articles highlighting record highs and strong fundamentals, including better-than-expected quarterly results and upbeat guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Some traders are warning the stock may be overbought after its outsized run, and technical commentary suggests a reversal could happen after the sharp surge. Article: Stock Of The Day: Is This The Top For Applied Materials?
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market coverage noted that chip stocks were a weak spot even as the market moved higher, which may be pressuring sentiment around semiconductor names like Applied Materials. Article: Meta, CoreWeave, Salesforce, Corning, Bending Spoons, and More Stocks That Explain Today’s Market

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.