Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 660 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,320 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 660 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $1,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,008,622 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $15,469,028,000 after buying an additional 891,446 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 22,005,192 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,566,418,000 after acquiring an additional 682,098 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,738,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,226,581,000 after acquiring an additional 224,296 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,260,630 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,322,280,000 after purchasing an additional 360,002 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in Applied Materials by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 5,854,099 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $948,762,000 after buying an additional 116,808 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Trading Down 2.3 %

AMAT opened at $192.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $129.21 and a twelve month high of $255.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.16.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.05.

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.