GFG Capital LLC Sells 24 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

GFG Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,853 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 24 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for approximately 1.9% of GFG Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. GFG Capital LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $7,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in KLA by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,159,832,000 after purchasing an additional 76,226 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,061,469,000 after acquiring an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in KLA by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,618,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,829,352,000 after acquiring an additional 71,289 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $1,048,728,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in KLA by 25.7% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,032,017 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $720,936,000 after purchasing an additional 211,227 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $820.00 target price for the company. 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 research report on Thursday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $805.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total transaction of $803,563.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 31,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,726,714.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total transaction of $803,563.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,726,714.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,936 shares of company stock worth $15,371,810. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Down 1.1 %

KLAC traded down $8.88 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $811.57. The stock had a trading volume of 684,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 933,390. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $807.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $737.16. The company has a market capitalization of $109.27 billion, a PE ratio of 42.98, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $440.15 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

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.