Teacher Retirement System of Texas Grows Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 29.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 588,492 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 133,740 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.07% of Applied Materials worth $95,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMAT. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 341.0% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,857,155 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $577,288,000 after buying an additional 2,209,218 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 67.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,663,133 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $942,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,884,153 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $182,962,000. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $157,426,000. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE grew its position in Applied Materials by 126.6% during the fourth quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 1,600,078 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $260,221,000 after buying an additional 893,995 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

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Applied Materials Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $2.83 during trading on Monday, hitting $154.95. 5,853,669 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,887,305. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $170.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.86. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.37 and a 1 year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, March 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the manufacturing equipment provider to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's payout ratio is currently 24.05%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company's 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 directly owns 6,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 13th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.38.

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.