Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Stock Holdings Trimmed by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 36.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 306,794 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 173,039 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $72,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,469,028,000 after purchasing an additional 891,446 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,566,418,000 after purchasing an additional 682,098 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,226,581,000 after purchasing an additional 224,296 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,322,280,000 after purchasing an additional 360,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,514,814,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, 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 value of $12,458,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at $11,639,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $185.94 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $129.21 and a one year high of $255.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $206.36 and a 200-day moving average of $210.95. The company has a market capitalization of $153.29 billion, a PE ratio of 21.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.14.

Applied Materials 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.