Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 4,932 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,681 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 4,932 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 144.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 4,865 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,875 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its position in Applied Materials by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 2,616 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 1.9% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 29,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $5,930,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.4% in the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,242 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,059,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 8.0% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 89,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $18,056,000 after acquiring an additional 6,638 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded down $17.12 during trading on Friday, hitting $168.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,287,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,137,177. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $190.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.73. The firm has a market cap of $139.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $141.94 and a one year high of $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 17.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Dbs Bank lowered Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $219.81.

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.