KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Affinity Capital Advisors LLC

Affinity Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 655 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 60 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Journey Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 518 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. increased its stake in KLA by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in KLA by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 507 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, MWA Asset Management increased its stake in KLA by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 683 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock traded up $2.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $820.43. 79,139 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 907,361. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $748.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $676.62. The firm has a market cap of $110.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.85, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $440.15 and a fifty-two week high of $876.55.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total transaction of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at $24,399,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,861 shares of company stock valued at $16,795,913. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of 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 shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $747.40.

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.