Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 89.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,874 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 758,147 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $18,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 150.0% during the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 68.9% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 179 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AMAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $273.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.68.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.0%

AMAT stock opened at $318.67 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $284.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.70. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $344.60.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The business’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 21.20%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. Corporate 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.