Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,500 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $16,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,062 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,148,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 13,787 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,242,000 after acquiring an additional 3,474 shares during the period. Fortress Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth $321,000. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $266,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $101,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.3 %

AMAT opened at $183.20 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $148.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $158.96 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $175.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.04.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price target (down previously from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.00.

Applied Materials Company 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.