Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Acquires 18,130 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 165,870 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 18,130 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $24,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Applied Materials by 972.2% during the first quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 193 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $158.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.74.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock traded up $2.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $192.61. 5,019,680 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,110,336. The company has a market cap of $154.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.74 and a twelve month high of $224.09. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $175.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.02.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm 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 prior year, the company posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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. Stockholders 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 0.96%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials 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.