Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $308.43 and last traded at $307.2750, with a volume of 921995 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $301.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $255.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Susquehanna raised shares of Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “positive” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.89.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $242.75 billion, a PE ratio of 35.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $253.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.72.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Traveka Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,404 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% in the third quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7.0% in the third quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 657 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 4.0% during the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.