KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Norway Savings Bank

Norway Savings Bank lowered its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,355 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 185 shares during the period. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Raymond James increased their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $747.40.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $824.51 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $759.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $680.37. The firm has a market cap of $111.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.19, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $440.15 and a 1 year high of $876.55.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.38%.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total value of $803,563.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,726,714.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 32,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total value of $803,563.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,726,714.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,861 shares of company stock valued at $16,795,913 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.