Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 2.6% – Time to Sell?

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s share price was down 2.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $156.10 and last traded at $156.65. Approximately 1,597,671 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 7,369,237 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. B. Riley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Daiwa America lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.88.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.1%

The stock has a market capitalization of $125.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $181.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,603,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $1,234,000. Finally, BIP Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.