Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co Acquires Shares of 2,884 Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,884 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $986,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. The trade was a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 278,088 shares of company stock worth $169,654,805 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 7.4%

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $564.55 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.46 and a 12 month high of $739.67. The company has a market cap of $448.23 billion, a PE ratio of 53.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $537.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $418.14.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.Applied Materials’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.39 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $550.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $450.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $400.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, May 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $500.00 price objective for the company. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.

More 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 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.