Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 160 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,480 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $905,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AMAT. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $773,611,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 29.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,571,178 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,327,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509,439 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 126.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,254,952 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $464,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259,111 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 262.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,390,501 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $280,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,937 shares during the period. Finally, EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter worth $162,873,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AMAT shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.05.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $174.88 on Friday. 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 $144.57 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.72. The firm has a market cap of $144.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.13. The company 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%. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is presently 18.58%.

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.