South Dakota Investment Council Sells 12,100 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 134,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 12,100 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $21,774,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Kaizen Financial Strategies lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 3,733 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp lifted its position in Applied Materials by 4.6% in the third quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 1,721 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $601,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 28,027 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,880,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Evercore ISI began coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $185.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.0 %

Applied Materials stock traded up $3.78 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $193.24. The company had a trading volume of 4,417,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,192,854. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.15 and a 1 year high of $214.91. The business has a fifty day moving average of $202.94 and a 200 day moving average of $170.76. The stock has a market cap of $160.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.59.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.23. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.03% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The firm had revenue of $6.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.48 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 15.06%.

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.