Red Spruce Capital LLC Sells 3,887 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Red Spruce Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,401 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 3,887 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises approximately 2.6% of Red Spruce Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Red Spruce Capital LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Applied Materials by 110.0% during the 2nd quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 210 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.0% during the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,905 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,396,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,252 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,839,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 77.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMAT traded up $1.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $145.97. 784,771 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,983,437. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.12 and a 52 week high of $155.26. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $144.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 17th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.15 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 49.29% and a net margin of 24.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 7.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 24th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 22nd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AMAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. New Street Research lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 16th. B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $150.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Applied Materials from $112.00 to $128.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.08.

Insider Activity at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total transaction of $150,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,907,690.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Applied Materials news, CFO Brice Hill sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.04, for a total value of $150,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 106,023 shares in the company, valued at $15,907,690.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total transaction of $1,420,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 69,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,869,568. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. It 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.