Erste Group Bank Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for AMAT

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) – Research analysts at Erste Group Bank boosted their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of Applied Materials in a report released on Thursday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst S. Lingnau now anticipates that the manufacturing equipment provider will post earnings of $12.76 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $12.29. Erste Group Bank has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Applied Materials’ current full-year earnings is $12.76 per share.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. William Blair began coverage on Applied Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Applied Materials from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 target price on Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $646.00 to $642.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $657.76.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock opened at $458.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $547.17 and a 200 day moving average of $458.57. The company has a market cap of $363.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The firm had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Harborfront Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 52.4% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total value of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. This represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 284,192 shares of company stock valued at $172,625,209. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.28%.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.