State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 21,007 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after buying an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,077,107 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $340,895,000 after acquiring an additional 164,085 shares during the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its position in Applied Materials by 47.0% in the third quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 67,915 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $13,722,000 after purchasing an additional 21,699 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,139,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 15,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Applied Materials by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,138,000 after purchasing an additional 653,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AMAT shares. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays cut their price target on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.71.

Applied Materials Stock Up 1.2 %

AMAT stock opened at $180.67 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $158.96 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $146.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a P/E/G 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. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $174.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.92.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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.