Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 92,961 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 5,523 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials accounts for 1.7% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $15,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. CX Institutional boosted its stake in Applied Materials by 344.7% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 20,945 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,232,000 after buying an additional 16,235 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,013 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 223,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $43,910,000 after purchasing an additional 27,348 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,244,566 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $857,615,000 after purchasing an additional 108,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $345,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AMAT. Mizuho decreased their price target on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. KeyCorp raised Applied Materials from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.00.

Applied Materials Stock Down 1.3 %

Applied Materials stock opened at $180.89 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $175.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.87. The company has a market cap of $147.01 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.53. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.96 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.87.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 26.41%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.58%.

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.