Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, thirteen have assigned a hold recommendation and sixteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $192.9231.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, September 12th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Applied Materials from $169.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, August 15th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,829 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Milestones Private Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth about $367,000. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 46.5% in the second quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 75,733 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $13,864,000 after purchasing an additional 24,050 shares during the last quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 37.1% during the 2nd quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 20,904 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,939,000 after acquiring an additional 5,655 shares during the period. Finally, American Trust purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth about $329,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $190.10 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $215.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.67. The company has a market capitalization of $151.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.77.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.93%.

About Applied Materials

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.