Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Receives “Hold” Rating from Craig Hallum

Craig Hallum reiterated their hold rating on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $190.00 price objective on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America upgraded Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, October 13th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.74.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT traded up $2.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $226.01. 15,242,336 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,648,314. The stock has a market cap of $180.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $212.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.80. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year 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.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 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 down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position in 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 raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.