KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Connable Office Inc.

Connable Office Inc. lessened its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,963 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 937 shares during the quarter. Connable Office Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,480 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,511,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $4,559,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $811,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,781,000. Finally, Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,050,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $702.80 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $440.15 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $94.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50 day moving average of $796.54 and a 200 day moving average of $751.98.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at $74,257,998.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $805.29.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB, Display and Component Inspection.