Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Buys 189 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,527 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bill Few Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc. now owns 10,045 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,030,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 2.2% in the third quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 58,922 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $11,905,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares during the period. CFM Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 3.2% in the third quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,503 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,197,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $332,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $345,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup cut their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, B. Riley cut their target price on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.14.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $184.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $195.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.55. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

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.