Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald issued their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Applied Materials in a research note issued on Tuesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C. Muse forecasts that the manufacturing equipment provider will earn $9.47 per share for the year. Cantor Fitzgerald has a "Overweight" rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Applied Materials' current full-year earnings is $9.37 per share.
Several other analysts have also issued reports on AMAT. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $218.95.
Get Our Latest Analysis on AMAT
NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $192.87 on Wednesday. Applied Materials has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm's 50 day moving average is $173.17 and its 200 day moving average is $190.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.94 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.53.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.58%.
Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Applied Materials by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $340,895,000 after buying an additional 164,085 shares in the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 47.0% in the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $13,722,000 after buying an additional 21,699 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 15,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $343,138,000 after acquiring an additional 653,739 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Applied Materials, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Applied Materials wasn't on the list.
While Applied Materials currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.