Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $583.92 Million Holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,889,966 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 116,084 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.35% of Applied Materials worth $583,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AMAT. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Applied Materials by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,949 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $4,939,000 after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials by 51.0% during the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 199,426 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $41,128,000 after acquiring an additional 67,398 shares during the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,382 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its position in Applied Materials by 90.8% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,612,587 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $332,564,000 after purchasing an additional 767,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rogco LP grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 12.4% during the first quarter. Rogco LP now owns 3,471 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. B. Riley lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.19.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.8 %

AMAT opened at $188.56 on Tuesday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.94 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09. The company’s 50-day moving average is $190.81 and its 200 day moving average is $207.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.78 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. Research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors 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 0.85%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.98%.

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.