Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Given “Overweight” Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $225.00 target price on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

AMAT has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Applied Materials from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $172.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Daiwa Capital Markets reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $170.00 price target (down previously from $185.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Summit Insights downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.12.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $217.53 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $173.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $179.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $226.41.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. 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 purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 9.6% in the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 1,661 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 2,878 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 6,073 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $881,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrive Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 9.6% in the first quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.