Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 21.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 83,738 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 23,406 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $13,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AMAT. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,032,850 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,389,048,000 after buying an additional 456,865 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,995,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,383,848,000 after acquiring an additional 570,080 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,514,814,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,017,147 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $813,129,000 after purchasing an additional 130,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 4.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,968,838 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $687,936,000 after purchasing an additional 230,789 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Applied Materials stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $219.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,914,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,820,641. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.18 and a 52 week high of $221.75. The firm has a market cap of $182.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.58. The business's 50-day moving average price is $205.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The firm had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The business's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is an increase from Applied Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $142.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $215.64.

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.