Applied Materials (AMAT) Expected to Announce Earnings on Thursday

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) is projected to post its Q2 2025 quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, May 15th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $2.30 per share and revenue of $7.12 billion for the quarter. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2025 guidance at 2.120-2.480 EPS.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. On average, analysts expect Applied Materials to post $9 EPS for the current fiscal year and $10 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $155.69. The stock had a trading volume of 3,884,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,745,503. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $147.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. Applied Materials has a 1-year low of $123.74 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $202.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Applied Materials stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 28.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 2,771 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.