Gary Dickerson Sells 58,321 Shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

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

Applied Materials Trading Down 7.4%

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $603.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $478.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $739.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $495.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $389.39.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 19.91%.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials is being highlighted as a key beneficiary of AI infrastructure spending, with coverage emphasizing its role in DRAM and advanced packaging innovations that support next-generation semiconductor growth. Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) Discusses DRAM and Advanced Packaging Innovations for AI-Driven Semiconductor Growth Prepared Remarks Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment was also supported by a Zacks list naming AMAT among the day’s top momentum stocks, reinforcing bullish technical momentum. Best Momentum Stocks to Buy for July 2nd
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary continues to frame Applied Materials as a behind-the-scenes winner from the AI boom, which could help justify its elevated valuation if chip demand stays strong. Applied Materials Is Silently Powering the AI Boom. Here’s Why.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader semiconductor stocks sold off as investors took profits after a strong first half, suggesting some of AMAT’s weakness may be sector-driven rather than company-specific. Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Shares Are Falling Today
• Neutral Sentiment: Another report noted AMAT fell more than the overall market in the latest session, but the move was tied to chip-sector weakness rather than a new earnings miss or guidance cut. Applied Materials (AMAT) Suffers a Larger Drop Than the General Market: Key Insights
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Gary Dickerson disclosed two sizable stock sales, including 20,000 shares sold at $735.22, which can weigh on investor sentiment even though he still retains a very large position. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) CEO Sells $14,704,400.00 in Stock

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,731,523,000 after buying an additional 330,197 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Applied Materials by 119.8% in 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 period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after acquiring an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $2,858,543,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Argus increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $420.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Twenty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.56.

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.