Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $905,000 Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,480 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $905,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,991 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,029,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Applied Materials by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 257,636 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $52,055,000 after acquiring an additional 26,975 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 40.8% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 29,597 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $5,980,000 after purchasing an additional 8,576 shares during the last quarter. Camden National Bank bought a new position in Applied Materials during the third quarter worth $400,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the third quarter valued at $3,262,000. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Dbs Bank cut Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.05.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $174.88 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.57 and a 1 year high of $255.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.72.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly 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. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.