State of Alaska Department of Revenue Lowers Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,970 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,630 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in KLA were worth $18,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in KLA by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,036,035 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,577,847,000 after purchasing an additional 133,821 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in KLA by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,061,469,000 after purchasing an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $1,048,728,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of KLA by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,267,811 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $581,496,000 after buying an additional 117,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156,913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $530,630,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $14.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $853.33. 440,454 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 898,864. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $770.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $686.67. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $440.15 and a 12 month high of $876.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.49 EPS. KLA’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on KLA in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $747.40.

About KLA

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.