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

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

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter worth $28,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 96.6% during the first quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Applied Materials stock opened at $188.59 on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.21 and a 52 week high of $255.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $156.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday, August 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.00.

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.