Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,082 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 6,279 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $31,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 7.0% during the third quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 657 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $673,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 4.0% in the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.0% in the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $350.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Applied Materials from $340.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $363.46.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $379.16, for a total value of $202,471.44. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,753,615. This represents a 10.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total value of $1,806,050.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,051,063.65. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $357.76 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $395.95. The stock has a market cap of $283.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $323.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $253.74.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.78% and a return on equity of 37.52%. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.38 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.83%.

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.