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

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 89.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 150.0% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter worth $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $318.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $252.93 billion, a PE ratio of 36.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $284.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $229.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total transaction of $952,960.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares in the company, valued at $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AMAT. DZ Bank raised Applied Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, January 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.68.

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.