Savoie Capital LLC Raises Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Savoie Capital LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 13.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 87,695 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after buying an additional 10,400 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 2.2% of Savoie Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Savoie Capital LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $17,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AMAT shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price 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, November 15th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Applied Materials from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Dbs Bank lowered Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com lowered Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $220.29.

Applied Materials Price Performance

AMAT stock traded down $3.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $168.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,847,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,185,961. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $148.05 and a 12 month high of $255.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $185.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.74.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $7.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.96 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials's payout ratio is presently 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.