Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 44.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,673 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 18,971 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 17,246 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at about $15,303,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 37,263 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $6,060,000 after acquiring an additional 6,365 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMAT. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "mixed" rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Applied Materials from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $162.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Seven investment 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.29.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $2.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $171.96. The stock had a trading volume of 6,261,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,006,784. The firm's 50 day moving average is $159.11 and its 200 day moving average is $162.89. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.92, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.67.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 40.15% and a net margin of 24.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.