Jennison Associates LLC Sells 126,503 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 43.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 165,784 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 126,503 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $119,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Timothy M. Deane sold 8,621 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.76, for a total value of $5,092,941.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 134,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,534,609.56. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total value of $14,704,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,176,236,570.46. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 5.1%

Shares of AMAT opened at $507.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $402.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.72, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $154.46 and a one year high of $739.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $564.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $444.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.58% and a net margin of 30.05%.The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 12.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 presently 19.91%.

Applied Materials News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarterly performance: Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion, ahead of the $8.99 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted EPS of $3.50 exceeded expectations. AI infrastructure demand, advanced packaging and memory spending supported growth. Applied Materials Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Above-consensus outlook: Management projected fiscal Q4 revenue of approximately $9.8 billion to $10.8 billion and EPS of $3.82 to $4.22, both above analyst expectations. The company also pointed to stronger systems growth and unusually long customer visibility into fiscal 2027 and beyond. Applied Materials Forecasts Quarterly Revenue Above Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and institutional support: JPMorgan, RBC, TD Cowen, B. Riley, Needham and other firms maintained positive ratings or raised price targets. Soros Capital also reportedly added AMAT among several semiconductor positions, reinforcing the longer-term AI and chip-cycle investment case. Soros Capital Loads Up on Semiconductor Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Options imply a possible rebound: Derivatives-market data indicates traders expect the pullback could be temporary, although elevated volatility reflects uncertainty over the stock’s near-term direction. Applied Materials Options Data
• Negative Sentiment: Expectations were exceptionally high: Despite the earnings beat and upbeat guidance, investors wanted faster growth and clearer evidence that AMAT is outpacing rivals in semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Concerns about competition, margins and the pace of systems growth overshadowed the headline results. Applied Materials Slips as Investors Seek Faster Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Broader market pressure added to selling: Weaker July retail-sales data, profit-taking after record highs and a semiconductor-sector selloff weighed on AMAT and other AI-related stocks.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. HSBC restated a “buy” rating and set a $683.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial set a $650.00 price target on Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $715.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $700.00 price objective (down from $790.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $645.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $640.17.

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.