Applied Materials’ (AMAT) Overweight Rating Reiterated at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $250.00 price target on the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for Applied Materials’ FY2024 earnings at $8.52 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a buy rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $233.14.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock opened at $207.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $172.14 billion, a PE ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.02. Applied Materials has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,091,873.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $15,469,028,000 after acquiring an additional 891,446 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,566,418,000 after purchasing an additional 682,098 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,226,581,000 after purchasing an additional 224,296 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,322,280,000 after purchasing an additional 360,002 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,514,814,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.