Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Reaches New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Applied Materials shares reached a new 52-week high, trading at $226.49, and closing at $223.91 with a volume of 7.9 million shares.
• Analysts' ratings varied for Applied Materials, with some raising price targets while others downgraded their ratings, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $195.12.
• The company reported strong earnings, exceeding analysts' estimates with an EPS of $2.48 and a revenue of $7.30 billion for the last quarter, showcasing a 7.7% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $226.49 and last traded at $223.91, with a volume of 7885132 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $217.53.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. KeyCorp raised their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Summit Insights lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Applied Materials from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $195.12.

Applied Materials Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $178.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $180.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $170.02.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 21.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 9.6% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,628 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.0% in the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 13,029 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,891,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 66.7% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,195 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $4,962,000 after acquiring an additional 13,677 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 6.8% in the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 62,146 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $9,019,000 after acquiring an additional 3,937 shares during the period. 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.

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