Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.14 EPS

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.14, Briefing.com reports. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 49.29% and a net margin of 24.27%. The company had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials updated its Q1 guidance to $1.72-2.08 EPS and its Q1 2024 guidance to $1.72-$2.08 EPS.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $148.59 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 2.30. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $93.68 and a 52-week high of $157.76.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Investors of record on Friday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total value of $150,040.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 106,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,907,690.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Eagle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 15,964 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1,146.3% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 54,014 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,807,000 after buying an additional 49,680 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $81,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 31.3% during the 2nd quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 5,144 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,598,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Bank of America upped their target price on Applied Materials from $165.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Applied Materials from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Applied Materials from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.41.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. It 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.