Fruth Investment Management Lowers Position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Fruth Investment Management cut its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,475 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Applied Materials comprises about 1.1% of Fruth Investment Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $4,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMAT. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMAT. Barclays raised Applied Materials from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $165.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Applied Materials from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $221.84.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT traded up $2.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $243.31. 2,768,843 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,211,725. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.21 and a 1-year high of $249.42.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.12. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.57% and a return on equity of 41.22%. The business had revenue of $6.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $12,458,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 458,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,223,763.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.65, for a total transaction of $2,325,559.55. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 49,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,639,630.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Prabu G. Raja sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 89,827 shares of company stock worth $21,382,560. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.