Prabu Raja Sells 50,000 Shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) insider Prabu Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $453.01 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $408.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $342.31. 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 firm has a market cap of $359.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $510.75.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 19.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Argus lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $502.00 price objective (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $470.13.

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials continues to benefit from AI-related demand and a deeper push into advanced chip packaging, including its completed acquisition of ASMPT NEXX and expanded collaboration with SCREEN Semiconductor, which could support future growth in semiconductor equipment. Applied Materials Deepens AI Chip Packaging Push As Valuation Stretches
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s recent earnings results beat estimates, with stronger revenue and EPS, and management’s guidance plus recent analyst price-target increases continue to reinforce the bullish longer-term view.
• Neutral Sentiment: TipRanks noted insider trading activity in AMAT as part of a broader weekend update, adding to investor attention but not necessarily changing the fundamental outlook. Rigetti, McDonald’s, Applied Materials, GM, Rocket Lab Insiders Stir Buzz
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider sales by CFO Brice Hill and executive Prabu G. Raja may have pressured shares, as investors often view heavy insider selling cautiously even when the company’s outlook remains solid. Applied Materials CFO Sells Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks broadly sold off after the strong jobs report and broader chip-sector weakness tied to the AVGO earnings overhang, which appears to be dragging AMAT lower with the group. Applied Materials, Lam Research, and Nova Stocks Trade Down, What You Need To Know

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $635,057,000 after purchasing an additional 145,050 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 82.2% in the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,512,000 after purchasing an additional 12,132 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 21.8% in the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $19,801,000 after purchasing an additional 17,288 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,531,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.