Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 1.4% Higher Following Dividend Announcement

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares shot up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Monday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $350.75 and last traded at $346.18. 4,419,941 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 44% from the average session volume of 7,893,164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $341.53.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $370.00 to $410.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Susquehanna upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. BNP Paribas Exane raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $380.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $274.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $335.72 and its 200-day moving average is $264.45.

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

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Warther Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,908 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.1% in the 4th 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 lifted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Family Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Family Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,227 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.