KCM Investment Advisors LLC Sells 423 Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,910 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 423 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $11,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, RFP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 173 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $215.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Applied Materials from $223.00 to $224.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total transaction of $554,050.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,890,103.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 2,500 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.62, for a total value of $554,050.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 76,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,890,103.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total transaction of $12,458,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 458,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,327 shares of company stock valued at $15,338,110 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ:AMAT traded up $4.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $197.26. The company had a trading volume of 7,311,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,009,392. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 2.80. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $129.21 and a fifty-two week high of $255.89. The firm has a market cap of $163.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s fifty day moving average is $215.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.28.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 41.22% and a net margin of 27.57%. Applied Materials’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 18.39%.

Applied Materials Company 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.