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

Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $226.49 and last traded at $223.91, with a volume of 7885132 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $217.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Wolfe Research reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.12.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.9%

The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.02. The company has a market capitalization of $178.38 billion, a PE ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.82.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 21.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,628 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 13,029 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 34,195 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,962,000 after purchasing an additional 13,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 62,146 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $9,019,000 after purchasing an additional 3,937 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

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.