State of Michigan Retirement System Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

State of Michigan Retirement System cut its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 271,555 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 3,200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $39,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $12,528,961,000 after buying an additional 487,358 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $3,260,178,000 after purchasing an additional 253,078 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after purchasing an additional 587,036 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $198.03 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $171.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $164.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.57.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company 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 firm's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. B. Riley reduced 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 report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.

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