Cantor Fitzgerald Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for AMAT

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald increased their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for Applied Materials in a research report issued on Monday, May 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C. Muse now anticipates that the manufacturing equipment provider will post earnings per share of $9.53 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $9.40. Cantor Fitzgerald has a "Overweight" rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Applied Materials' current full-year earnings is $9.38 per share.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. B. Riley reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $165.73 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.12. Applied Materials has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $134.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 972.2% in the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. The trade was a 3.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is 22.38%.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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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