Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Sold by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd reduced its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,460 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 8,302 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $14,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $773,611,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,327,707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509,439 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 262.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $280,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,937 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $162,873,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,698,282 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $343,138,000 after acquiring an additional 653,739 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Trading Down 0.2 %

AMAT opened at $174.55 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.57 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $143.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $189.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.49.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.05.

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.