Enterprise Financial Services Corp Has $2.58 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Key Points

• Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its Applied Materials stake by 70% in the first quarter, buying 3,107 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 7,545 shares worth about $2.58 million.
• Applied Materials continues to attract strong analyst support, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating and a $593.84 average target.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $2.86 and revenue of $7.91 billion, though the shares have also drawn valuation concerns after a strong rally.

Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 70.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,545 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,107 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for 1.3% of Enterprise Financial Services Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Enterprise Financial Services Corp's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $2,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolve Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.0% in the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $21,149,000 after buying an additional 3,508 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $1,082,000. Finally, Baker Chad R grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Baker Chad R now owns 16,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $4,297,000 after buying an additional 7,170 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Applied Materials News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, May 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. HC Wainwright set a $850.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $593.84.

Applied Materials Trading Down 3.2%

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $560.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $445.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The stock's 50-day moving average is $531.23 and its 200-day moving average is $412.23. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.28, for a total transaction of $25,264,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 356,642 shares in the company, valued at $180,204,069.76. This represents a 12.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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