Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Sells 197 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. decreased its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,330 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Foster Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 1,396 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Dixon Fnancial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Dixon Fnancial Services Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Orca Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $288,000. Finally, BSW Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 5,578 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

NASDAQ AMAT opened at $175.28 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $142.45 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $174.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $158.96 and a 52-week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays cut their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. KeyCorp upgraded Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of 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, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.71.

Applied Materials 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.