Retirement Systems of Alabama Cuts Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 478,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 7,321 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.06% of Applied Materials worth $69,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 18,785 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,055,000 after acquiring an additional 6,364 shares during the last quarter. Skye Global Management LP purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $45,862,000. Cable Hill Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 3,485 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $567,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,608,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $230,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Down 2.0%

AMAT stock traded down $3.38 during trading on Friday, hitting $169.46. 18,385,582 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,038,720. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $158.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.17. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.74 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,716,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $235,614,763.40. This represents a 3.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $880,131.91. This 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 owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of 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, Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.29.

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.