Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 175,293 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,949 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $28,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 341.0% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $577,288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209,218 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 67.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $942,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,153 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $182,962,000. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $157,426,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 126.6% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $260,221,000 after buying an additional 893,995 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This trade represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.1 %

AMAT stock opened at $154.38 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $145.37 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $170.71 and a 200-day moving average of $178.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. As a group, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.05%.

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.