Busey Bank Cuts Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Busey Bank has reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. by 2.0%, holding 175,715 shares valued at approximately $32.17 million, making it the bank's 22nd largest stock position.
• Analysts have varied assessments of Applied Materials, with 16 giving it a Buy rating and a consensus price target of $192.92, despite some lowering their price targets recently.
• The company reported earnings of $2.48 per share for its last quarter, surpassing estimates, and has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46 planned for December 11th.

Busey Bank reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,715 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 3,620 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up approximately 1.0% of Busey Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Busey Bank's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $32,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 972.2% in the 1st quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 435.0% during the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 214 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5,325.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 217 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 91.5% during the first quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 272 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. DZ Bank downgraded Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, August 15th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $194.15.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded up $0.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $201.39. 6,890,198 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,521,428. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $215.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $176.36 and a 200-day moving average of $165.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.77.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 23.88%.The business had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.12 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.93%.

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.