Thomas Iannotti Sells 9,250 Shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Director Thomas Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Applied Materials Stock Up 4.1%

AMAT stock opened at $617.11 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $638.90. The firm has a market cap of $489.96 billion, a PE ratio of 57.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $446.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $363.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $7.91 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $502.00 target price (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $440.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $489.16.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

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

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.