Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Raised to $255.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $250.00 to $255.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, October 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.74.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $226.01 on Friday. Applied Materials has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $242.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $212.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.94, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.