Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Grows Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,527 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foster Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $265,000. Welch Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter valued at about $224,000. Perpetual Ltd increased its position in Applied Materials by 113.6% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 15,200 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,135,000 after buying an additional 8,083 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter worth about $379,000. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 7,698 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen 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 $229.14.

Applied Materials Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $184.59 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $195.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $152.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.99% and a net margin of 27.74%. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.39%.

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.