Enterprise Financial Services Corp Purchases 3,107 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 70.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,545 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,107 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up about 1.3% of Enterprise Financial Services Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Enterprise Financial Services Corp’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total value of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Applied Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials continues to benefit from AI-driven semiconductor spending, and management recently reinforced the view that this investment cycle could stay elevated for years, supporting a multiyear growth outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts still see meaningful EPS growth ahead, with recent commentary highlighting strong demand trends and a higher price target from Mizuho, which can help sustain investor confidence in AMAT. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage around AMAT’s valuation is becoming more cautious, with one report saying the stock appears to be trading above fair value even though earnings look roughly reasonable, suggesting limited upside from current levels. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the strong recent rally, some commentary frames Applied Materials as a long-term AI infrastructure winner, but also notes that new buyers are paying up after a very large five-year advance. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns are the main drag on sentiment today: investors may be questioning whether Applied Materials’ strong AI demand story is already fully priced into the shares after the recent surge. Article Title

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $560.93 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $531.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $412.23. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $445.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $570.00 to $705.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank raised Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $593.84.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.