Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Acquired by Sawgrass Asset Management LLC

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,484 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,755 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials makes up 2.1% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $19,899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Applied Materials by 0.7% in the third quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,043 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,464,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 144.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 4,865 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $983,000 after buying an additional 2,875 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 14.6% during the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 2,616 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 1.9% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 29,350 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $5,930,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Applied Materials by 5.4% in the third quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,242 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,059,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $230.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $220.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $219.81.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT stock traded down $17.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $168.88. The company had a trading volume of 16,287,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,981,500. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $190.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.78. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $141.94 and a 12 month high of $255.89. 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 firm has a market cap of $139.22 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.56.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.10. Applied Materials had a net margin of 26.41% and a return on equity of 39.71%. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.