Arizona State Retirement System Has $56.85 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 240,882 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,393 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $56,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America raised their target price on Applied Materials from $222.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. B. Riley cut their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Applied Materials news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.0 %

AMAT stock opened at $180.17 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $149.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $211.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $211.29. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

About Applied Materials

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.