First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 143,876 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

First Manhattan CO. LLC. reduced its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,885,459 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 143,876 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.3% of First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned approximately 0.24% of Applied Materials worth $484,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 116 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi raised its price target on Applied Materials, boosting confidence that AI infrastructure spending and demand for memory-chip manufacturing tools will keep growth strong. Applied Materials surges as Citi lifts target on AI demand boom
• Positive Sentiment: The company unveiled SENZ, an integrated AI/AR smart-glasses visual platform, expanding its story beyond semiconductor equipment into next-generation optics and wearable tech. EssilorLuxottica and Applied Materials Join Forces to Advance Augmented Reality Optics Platforms for Next-Generation Smart Glasses
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials and EssilorLuxottica announced a long-term partnership to develop AR and AI smart-eyewear optics, suggesting an additional growth avenue and validating AMAT’s materials expertise. EssilorLuxottica, Applied Materials strike deal to develop smart glasses, AR technology
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted record highs and strong momentum for chip-equipment stocks, with AMAT benefiting from the broader AI-driven rally in semiconductor capital equipment. Applied Materials Stock Is One Of the S&P 500 Leaders Today. It’s AI.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $592.92 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $623.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $441.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $360.55. The stock has a market cap of $470.75 billion, a PE ratio of 55.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $7.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 29.31% and a return on equity of 36.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total transaction of $5,092,941.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares in the company, valued at $87,184,361.88. This trade represents a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 189,767 shares of company stock worth $107,769,409 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $515.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $502.00 price target (up from $454.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $465.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $530.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Twenty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $489.16.

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.