Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 29.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 588,492 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 133,740 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Applied Materials were worth $95,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $154.46 on Thursday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.37 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $171.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.67, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $125.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.62.

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

Applied Materials declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.05%.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,052.88. This represents a 4.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Applied Materials from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.38.

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.