Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. Invests $1.48 Million in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,739 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,475,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 269,511 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $55,180,000 after buying an additional 17,397 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,101,772 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $635,057,000 after acquiring an additional 145,050 shares in the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in Applied Materials by 21.8% during the third quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 96,712 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,801,000 after acquiring an additional 17,288 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan raised its position in Applied Materials by 82.2% during the third quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 26,893 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $5,512,000 after acquiring an additional 12,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $1,531,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Summit Insights raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares in the company, valued at $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,003 shares of company stock valued at $4,484,189. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $396.94 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $359.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $295.28. The company has a market capitalization of $315.02 billion, a PE ratio of 40.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.64. 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.

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

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

More Applied Materials News

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.

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.