Gary Dickerson Sells 71,727 Shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) CEO Gary Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $617.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $638.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $446.42 and its 200 day moving average is $363.12. The firm has a market cap of $489.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Applied Materials News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target on Applied Materials, reinforcing the view that AI infrastructure spending and memory-chip equipment demand should keep driving revenue growth. Applied Materials surges as Citi lifts target on AI demand boom
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials launched SENZ, a fully integrated visual system for AI smart glasses, and partnered with EssilorLuxottica and Qualcomm, giving investors a potential new long-term growth avenue. Applied Materials (AMAT) Launches SENZ With Qualcomm And EssilorLuxottica For AI Eyewear
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted Applied Materials as a beneficiary of the AI equipment super-cycle, with strong earnings, robust wafer-fab equipment demand, and favorable analyst sentiment supporting the rally. Applied Materials: The Cheapest Seat On The AI Equipment Super-Cycle

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $19,731,523,000 after purchasing an additional 330,197 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings 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 worth $8,405,458,000 after buying an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after buying an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,947,891,000 after buying an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,858,543,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $530.00 price objective on Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Twenty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $489.16.

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.