Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $5.53 Million Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. by 15.1%, owning 38,114 shares worth approximately $5.53 million.
• Applied Materials reported an EPS of $2.39 for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, along with a revenue of $7.10 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 1.0%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 15.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 6,804 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $5,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 3,734 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Old Port Advisors boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.5% in the first quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 2,730 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% during the first quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 1,506 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.8% during the first quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 2,540 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.2% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 1,047 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT traded up $1.72 on Friday, reaching $184.87. 4,338,229 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,090,117. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $215.70. The company has a market cap of $148.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.70. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $182.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $166.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Activity

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.09.

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.