Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Has $185.69 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 24.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 256,826 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 82,811 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 2.4% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $185,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 26.7% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 59.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

More Applied Materials News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI infrastructure is supporting a new growth cycle. Chipmakers are increasing spending on advanced DRAM, high-bandwidth memory, leading-edge logic and advanced packaging—all areas that benefit Applied Materials’ semiconductor equipment business. The company’s latest quarter showed revenue growth of 24.8% year over year, with earnings and revenue exceeding analyst expectations. Applied Materials Enters a New AI-Driven Growth Cycle
• Positive Sentiment: Services and parts demand remain resilient. Applied Materials’ Applied Global Services (AGS) division reportedly reached record revenue and expanded margins, helped by subscription services, parts demand and higher semiconductor-fab utilization. This recurring revenue can provide stability across equipment cycles. AMAT’s AGS Business Gains Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts see potential upside after the recent selloff. Consensus price targets imply roughly 35% upside, while another report cited an average target near $641. However, these targets depend on continued earnings-estimate improvements and sustained AI spending. Analyst Upside Potential for AMAT
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho remains constructive but lowered its target. The firm reduced its price target from $650 to $590 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, reflecting a more cautious near-term outlook despite expected upside. Mizuho AMAT Price Target Update
• Negative Sentiment: China exposure is the main overhang. Tighter export controls and the emergence of Chinese domestic immersion DUV lithography systems are raising concerns about Applied Materials’ competitiveness and future China sales. Reports caution that not all of the company’s approximately $2.087 billion in quarterly China revenue is immediately threatened, but investors are still pricing in greater regulatory and competitive risk. Applied Materials’ China Problem Is Getting Worse

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total transaction of $5,547,872.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. This represents a 18.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $633.53, for a total value of $6,335,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 346,642 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,608,106.26. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 276,692 shares of company stock worth $169,030,834 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $479.76 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $154.46 and a twelve month high of $739.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $556.61 and a 200-day moving average of $455.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $380.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.73 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. HSBC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $683.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Argus set a $600.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $657.76.

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.