Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Lowers Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co decreased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 922 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in KLA were worth $760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 77.3% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,257,998.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock worth $14,568,247. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $731.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $776.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $754.25. The firm has a market cap of $98.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.29, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $440.15 and a 1 year high of $896.32.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Raymond James increased their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Argus raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $812.80.

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.