Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Sells 7,654 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lessened its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,317 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 7,654 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 0.6% of Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $29,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total value of $2,325,559.55. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on AMAT. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. B. Riley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $165.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Applied Materials from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.00.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $188.59 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $201.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.21 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a market cap of $156.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

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.