Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Has $19.90 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 98,484 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,755 shares during the period. Applied Materials makes up about 2.1% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. First PREMIER Bank lifted its position in Applied Materials by 326.3% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 162 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 56.0% in the second quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Stock Down 9.2 %

AMAT stock opened at $168.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $139.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $190.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.78. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.94 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 17.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Applied Materials from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.81.

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.