Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC cut its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 5.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 343 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 77.3% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in KLA by 2,033.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, 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 transaction of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at $74,257,998.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $748.82 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $100.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $789.58 and a 200 day moving average of $752.45. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $440.15 and a 52 week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on KLAC. StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $950.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $805.29.

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.