Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 7,321 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 478,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 7,321 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.06% of Applied Materials worth $69,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Applied Materials by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $915,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 16.3% in the first quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 32,423 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,705,000 after purchasing an additional 4,539 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.1% in the first quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 35,814 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,197,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 55.6% during the first quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 2,014 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.6% during the first quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 67,471 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $9,791,000 after buying an additional 5,336 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.29.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total transaction of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $880,131.91. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.7%

AMAT stock opened at $172.84 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $158.62 and a 200-day moving average of $163.17. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a market capitalization of $138.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to repurchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.