Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,681 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 4,932 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. JT Stratford LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 0.4% in the first quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 10,890 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,246,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.3% in the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,556 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 9,143 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 14th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Dbs Bank cut shares of Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $168.88 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.73. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $141.94 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 17.98%.

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.