Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Price Target Raised to $260.00

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) had its target price hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $220.00 to $260.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

AMAT has been the topic of several other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.74.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $226.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.76. Applied Materials has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $242.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. 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. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.