Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 18.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,996 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 21,007 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $15,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 6.5% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 168,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $34,079,000 after buying an additional 10,331 shares in the last quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $440,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 2.8% during the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 7,641 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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 reduced their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $180.67 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $174.67 and a 200-day moving average of $185.92. The firm has a market cap of $146.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

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.