William Blair Issues Positive Estimate for AMAT Earnings

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at William Blair raised their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Applied Materials in a research note issued on Friday, November 15th. William Blair analyst J. Dorsheimer now expects that the manufacturing equipment provider will post earnings of $2.29 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.21. The consensus estimate for Applied Materials' current full-year earnings is $9.52 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Applied Materials' Q2 2025 earnings at $2.32 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.36 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.47 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.51 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.58 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.71 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $10.27 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AMAT. B. Riley cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. StockNews.com cut Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $168.16. The stock had a trading volume of 650,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,112,771. The company's 50-day moving average is $190.88 and its 200 day moving average is $206.87. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $144.57 and a 12-month high of $255.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market capitalization of $138.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.71% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.12 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JT Stratford LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,246,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 18.58%.

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.