State of Michigan Retirement System Has $39.41 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 271,555 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 3,200 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $39,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in Applied Materials by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,061 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $173,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during 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 valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 977 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.9% in the first quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $946,580. The trade was a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMAT. B. Riley dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 price objective on Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $203.65.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $197.93. 4,423,891 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,109,438. 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 company has a market capitalization of $158.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $248.81. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $171.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.77.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given 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 0.93%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

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.