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Teacher Retirement System of Texas Reduces Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Applied Materials logo with Computer and Technology background

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lowered its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 39.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 359,086 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 229,406 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Applied Materials were worth $52,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,647,430,000 after buying an additional 1,814,444 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position 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 buying an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 301.6% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $318,754,000 after buying an additional 1,471,953 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 10,767.6% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $219,157,000 after buying an additional 1,335,180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on AMAT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $220.00 target price on Applied Materials and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Edward Jones raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.76.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Applied Materials

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $190.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,568,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,090,031. The company has a market capitalization of $153.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 2.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $167.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $163.94.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $7.10 billion during 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%. Applied Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program 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 repurchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total transaction of $100,373.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

About Applied Materials

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)

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