Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Trims Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 339,637 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 30,326 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.6% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $116,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,779,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $19,731,523,000 after acquiring an additional 330,197 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 119.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 32,707,049 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $8,405,458,000 after purchasing an additional 17,829,377 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,563,376,000 after purchasing an additional 3,583,751 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,470,835 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,947,891,000 after purchasing an additional 373,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $2,858,543,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Applied Materials from $390.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $589.48.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials rallied after CEO Gary Dickerson said chipmakers have “tremendous visibility” into demand, implying the AI investment cycle could support equipment orders for years rather than quarters. Applied Materials (AMAT) Stock Jumps after CEO Says AI Chip Demand Has Years to Run
• Positive Sentiment: Meta Platforms’ reported plan to begin manufacturing an in-house AI chip helped spark a broader rally in semiconductor equipment stocks, including Applied Materials, on expectations that AI infrastructure spending will remain strong. Applied Materials stock jumps as Meta AI chip plan lifts semiconductor names
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel and Needham both raised their price targets on AMAT and kept buy ratings, reinforcing the view that improving fundamentals and AI-driven demand could support further upside. Applied Materials PT Raised to $650 at Stifel
• Neutral Sentiment: Applied Materials was removed from several Russell value-oriented indices in late June, a classification change that reflects the stock’s shift toward being viewed more as an AI/semiconductor growth name than a value stock. How Investors Are Reacting To Applied Materials (AMAT) Being Dropped From Key Russell Value Indices
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no reported short interest as of July 10, offering little evidence of bearish positioning from the latest filing.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $13.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $602.50. The company had a trading volume of 6,270,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,077,411. The company has a market capitalization of $478.36 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.46 and a 52-week high of $739.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $517.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $402.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company’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. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. This represents a 6.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials 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 owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.