Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Grows Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 74.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,644 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 18,130 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $6,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB grew its stake in Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,892 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,595,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its stake in Applied Materials by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 13,050 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,637,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 625,561 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $126,395,000 after purchasing an additional 54,581 shares during the period. Finally, Narus Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $4.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $171.98. 7,364,128 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,722,227. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $139.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.53. The firm's fifty day moving average is $175.59 and its 200-day moving average is $183.92. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.96 and a 52 week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.38.

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.