Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading 2.2% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares were up 2.2% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $236.54 and last traded at $235.08. Approximately 7,584,308 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 0% from the average daily volume of 7,600,030 shares. The stock had previously closed at $230.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Daiwa America cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $256.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Cfra Research raised Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, B. Riley boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.96.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.50. The company has a market capitalization of $187.27 billion, a PE ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.84. The company’s fifty day moving average is $205.31 and its 200-day moving average is $184.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 40.96%. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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, analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.46 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,125,265,000 after acquiring an additional 391,540 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,836,807,000 after buying an additional 407,282 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,936,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,635,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,604,002,000. 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.