Values First Advisors Inc. Has $339,000 Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Values First Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 438 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 58 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 6,188.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 239,404 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $185,397,000 after buying an additional 235,597 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC grew its position in KLA by 74.8% in the third quarter. Jackson Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,293 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $17,264,000 after acquiring an additional 9,543 shares during the last quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. raised its stake in KLA by 0.5% during the third quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 19,608 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $15,185,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.5% in the third quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 1,206 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $934,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $14,860,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,063,876.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at $6,063,876.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $666.16 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $452.01 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.69 billion, a PE ratio of 34.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $764.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $764.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. Analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on KLA in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $804.57.

About KLA

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.