Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co Takes $986,000 Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,884 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $986,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Insight Advisors LLC PA acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $253,000. Saturna Capital Corp grew its stake in Applied Materials by 34.2% in the first quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 1,590 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.7% during the first quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 78,906 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,969,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 33.3% during the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 438,392 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $149,838,000 after purchasing an additional 109,506 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 567,604 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $194,001,000 after purchasing an additional 69,366 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Mizuho increased their price target on Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $593.84.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This trade represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Peer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing announced plans to raise chipmaking prices by up to 10% in 2027, while wafer supplier IQE lifted guidance, reinforcing expectations for strong AI and data-center chip demand and more equipment spending across the semiconductor supply chain. Why Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Is Up Today
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials’ installed base services business appears to be a growing recurring-revenue engine, with Applied Global Services revenue rising to $1.665 billion from $1.42 billion a year earlier as fab utilization improves. Is AMAT’s Installed Base Business Built for Long-Term Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Industry commentary continues to point to AI-driven semiconductor growth as a tailwind for AMAT, with analysts highlighting the company as a beneficiary of sustained demand for advanced chips and manufacturing equipment. 3 Stocks to Buy From the Prospering Semiconductor Industry
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials also joined CuspAI’s AI Materials Foundry as a founding member, a strategic move that could support long-term materials discovery efforts, though it is not an immediate earnings catalyst. Applied Materials (AMAT) Joins CuspAI Foundry To Speed Semiconductor Materials Discovery
• Negative Sentiment: Some market commentary flagged seasonal weakness for AMAT heading into late July, which could temper momentum if investors focus on near-term trading patterns. Three Stocks Just Flashed Seasonal Signals

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $564.55 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $537.43 and its 200 day moving average is $418.14. The firm has a market cap of $448.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.01, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released 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 analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Applied Materials Company 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.