JLB & Associates Inc. Reduces Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

JLB & Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,023 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 261 shares during the period. KLA comprises 2.2% of JLB & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $17,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,050,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in KLA by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 8,780 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 1,579.3% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 6,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 6,175 shares during the last quarter. Objective Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, GLOBALT Investments LLC GA bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $2,254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 3.1 %

KLA stock opened at $777.36 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $448.31 and a 12-month high of $896.32. 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 has a market capitalization of $104.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $768.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $759.26.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 the SEC website. In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,257,998.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $925.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $808.62.

KLA Company 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.