Busey Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Busey Bank decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 172,798 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 2,123 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 1.2% of Busey Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Busey Bank’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $44,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,469 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after acquiring an additional 157,426 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: New tools for next‑gen chips: AMAT unveiled the Precision Selective Nitride PECVD and Trillium ALD systems aimed at 2nm AI and HPC chips — this strengthens its content per chip and positions it to capture AI/HPC node transitions. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Potential large customer for fabs: Bloomberg/press reports say Elon Musk’s Terafab team has contacted AMAT (among others) for equipment quotes — if that project proceeds it could add meaningful new demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: B. Riley raised its price target on AMAT to $485 (Buy), reflecting a multi‑year AI-related outlook upgrade that supports higher valuations. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive industry signals: peers TSMC and (expected) Lam Research results point to strong AI/HPC and DRAM spending, which is supportive for AMAT as an equipment supplier. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Momentum & coverage: multiple Zacks pieces note heavy investor interest and recent strong short‑term performance (momentum), which can amplify moves but may also lead to volatile reversals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and valuation pressure: relative comparisons (NVDA vs AMAT) and broader peer valuations (ASML/US peers) highlight that investors may prefer higher‑growth alternatives like NVIDIA, which could limit further multiple expansion for AMAT. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term softness in revenue: most recent quarter showed slight year‑over‑year revenue decline (about -2.1%), so while earnings beat and guidance were constructive, demand remains lumpy and could lead to volatility if orders don’t accelerate.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $310.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group set a $430.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $485.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total transaction of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. The trade was a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Judy Bruner sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.71, for a total transaction of $979,275.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,089 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,322.19. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $396.94 on Monday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $132.80 and a 1 year high of $407.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $359.89 and its 200 day moving average is $295.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $315.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.64.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 21.70%.

About Applied Materials

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.