State of Alaska Department of Revenue Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,368 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 9,020 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $23,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,117,176 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,012,171,000 after buying an additional 973,218 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Applied Materials by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,566,418,000 after buying an additional 682,098 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,226,581,000 after acquiring an additional 224,296 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 6.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,383,848,000 after purchasing an additional 570,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at $114,223,763.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.34, for a total transaction of $4,446,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 108,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,091,873.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.0 %

Applied Materials stock traded up $2.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $243.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,768,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,733,284. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $249.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $220.13 and a 200-day moving average of $197.19. The stock has a market cap of $201.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.54 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.