Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Trims Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,293 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 4,949 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $28,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 101,883 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $16,569,000 after purchasing an additional 3,628 shares during the period. Talos Asset Management LP bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,977,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Applied Materials by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 588,492 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $95,706,000 after buying an additional 133,740 shares in the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $2,394,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 58,955 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $9,550,000 after acquiring an additional 7,627 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

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Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT traded down $1.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $153.64. The stock had a trading volume of 5,093,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,885,608. The company has a market cap of $124.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.37 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $170.00 and a 200 day moving average of $177.68.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.05%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $230.00 to $202.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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.