Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,714 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. $AMAT

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 467,833 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,714 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $120,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 150.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 125 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, Director Judy Bruner sold 3,969 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.02, for a total transaction of $1,496,392.38. Following the transaction, the director owned 28,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,778,624.78. This trade represents a 12.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brice Hill sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.21, for a total transaction of $1,806,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 138,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,051,063.65. This represents a 3.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 12,003 shares of company stock worth $4,484,189 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DZ Bank upgraded Applied Materials to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $390.00 to $440.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $363.46.

Applied Materials Trading Down 4.2%

AMAT opened at $323.12 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $344.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.86. The company has a market capitalization of $256.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.07, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.65. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $123.74 and a 52 week high of $395.95.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.17. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 37.52% and a net margin of 27.78%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Applied Materials has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.440-2.840 EPS. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.