Savant Capital LLC Has $3.29 Million Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,236 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $3,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 592.9% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 194 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $183.20 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.04. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $158.96 and a 52-week high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.89 billion, a PE ratio of 21.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. The business had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.12 EPS. Applied Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AMAT shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Applied Materials from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America cut their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $179.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.00.

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.