<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in  Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 7.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 847,021 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 67,475 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.11% of Applied Materials worth $155,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.</p><ul><li>3 Companies Turning Big Cash Flow Into Bigger Shareholder Gains</li></ul><p>Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in  Applied Materials by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after buying an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter.  Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of  Applied Materials by 8.7% during the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 374,017 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $54,277,000 after acquiring an additional 29,954 shares during the period.  Boston Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in  Applied Materials by 57.8% in the first quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 7,096 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter.  Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in  Applied Materials by 74.2% in the first quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,330 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 8,236 shares during the period.  Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in  Applied Materials by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,190,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $172,765,000 after purchasing an additional 65,478 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. </p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Applied Materials</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><h2>Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth</h2><p>Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Weiss Ratings  reaffirmed a &#34;hold (c+)&#34; rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a &#34;buy&#34; rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set a &#34;neutral&#34; rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 14th. Barclays increased their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Daiwa America downgraded Applied Materials from a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating to a &#34;hold&#34; rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and an average price target of $234.74.</p><ul><li>The Chip Boom Is Back: 3 Stocks Positioned for Huge Gains</li></ul><p><b>Check Out Our Latest Report on AMAT</b></p><h2>Applied Materials Price Performance</h2><p>Shares of AMAT stock opened at $259.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 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 $276.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $236.68 and a 200-day moving average of $199.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.67. </p><ul><li>MarketBeat Week in Review – 11/17 - 11/21</li></ul><p>Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS.  On average, equities research analysts forecast that  Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year. </p><h2>Applied Materials Announces Dividend</h2><p>The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 21.20%. </p><h2>Insider Buying and Selling</h2><p>In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders. </p><h2>Applied Materials Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.</p><h2>Read More</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Applied Materials</li><li>Should You Add These Warren Buffett Stocks to Your Portfolio?</li><li>Disney's $1 Billion Deal Brings Its Magic to OpenAI</li><li>What Percentage Gainers Tell Investors and Why They Don’t Tell the Whole Story</li><li>Why Amazon Could Be a $300 Stock Within Weeks</li><li>What is the Hang Seng index?  </li><li>Adobe Gets Post-Earnings Lift: Long-Term Outlook Favors Upside</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9QU1BVA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9QU1BVA"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Applied Materials Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Applied Materials, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Applied Materials wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Applied Materials currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

AMAT

<p>Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in Applied Materials by 7.4% in Q2, owning 847,021 shares worth $155.07 million. Other hedge funds adjusted their holdings, with institutional investors owning 80.56% of the stock. Analysts have mixed ratings, with an average price target of $234.74. Applied Materials reported Q4 earnings of $2.17 per share, beating estimates, with revenue down 3.5% year-over-year.</p>

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $155.07 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT