KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Leuthold Group LLC

Leuthold Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 25.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 4,645 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises 1.3% of Leuthold Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $11,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 77.3% during 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 in the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in KLA by 2,033.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at KLA

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

KLA Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $731.04 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $440.15 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $98.43 billion, a PE ratio of 38.29, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $776.57 and a 200-day moving average of $754.25. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders 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 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group lowered their price target on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $812.80.

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.