Silvant Capital Management LLC Has $36.35 Million Stock Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Silvant Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,912 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,833 shares during the quarter. Applied Materials comprises approximately 1.6% of Silvant Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Silvant Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $36,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 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 valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, First PREMIER Bank lifted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT opened at $183.38 on Friday. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $136.67 and a 1-year high of $255.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.54. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $191.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.09.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $6.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 17.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. B. Riley lowered their price target on Applied Materials from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

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.