FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co Sells 517 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co reduced its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,513 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 517 shares during the quarter. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. FPC Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 61.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 213 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 271 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.72, for a total value of $46,807.12. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,052.88. The trade was a 4.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMAT. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. TD Cowen dropped their price target 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, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $194.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.38.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $168.51 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.67. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $158.96 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 22.95% and a return on equity of 39.50%. Analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

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.