Arizona State Retirement System Grows Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 238,593 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $38,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $37,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 13th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock opened at $152.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.67 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $174.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.96. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.55 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

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.