Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,918 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 3,066 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $7,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 341.0% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $577,288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,209,218 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 67.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $942,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,153 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $182,962,000. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $157,426,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 126.6% in the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $260,221,000 after purchasing an additional 893,995 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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 note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total transaction of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of AMAT traded down $2.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $152.12. The stock had a trading volume of 15,887,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,887,441. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.37 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $170.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.89. The company has a market cap of $123.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Applied Materials's payout ratio is 24.05%.

Applied Materials declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.