Brice Hill Sells 5,000 Shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $369.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $293.54 billion, a PE ratio of 37.85, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $302.65 and a 200 day moving average of $241.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $376.32.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. 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 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Summit Insights raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $360.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, DZ Bank upgraded shares of Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.04.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Earnings and guidance outperformed — AMAT beat Q1 EPS and revenue estimates and management gave strong growth guidance, which has been cited as a primary driver of renewed investor optimism. 3 Under-the-Radar Earnings Surprises Could Signal a New Trend (AMAT)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and target raises — Zacks upgraded AMAT to a “Strong Buy” and several banks (Goldman, UBS, Barclays, Stifel) have lifted price targets and ratings in recent days, supporting upward momentum. Applied Materials (AMAT) Upgraded to Strong Buy: Here’s Why
• Positive Sentiment: Large bullish options flow — unusually heavy call buying (~97,138 calls, ~+231% vs. average) suggests traders are positioning for further upside or hedging long exposure, which can amplify near‑term gains.
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst commentary — some outlets highlight differing views across analysts (valuation vs. secular cyclical upside), creating variable near‑term sentiment despite the bullish headlines. Analysts Have Conflicting Sentiments on These Technology Companies
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest reporting anomaly — filings show zero/NaN short interest and a 0.0 days‑to‑cover metric; this is almost certainly a data/reporting error and not meaningful for positioning today.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares (~$1.8M) on Feb 17, trimming his stake by ~3.5%. Routine liquidity sales are common, but some investors view insider sales as a modest negative signal. SEC Form 4

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Warther Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Tradition Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,031 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.4% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.