KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lessened its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 370 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,053 shares during the quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in KLA by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,159,832,000 after buying an additional 76,226 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of KLA by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,318,329,000 after purchasing an additional 28,172 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in KLA by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,618,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,829,352,000 after purchasing an additional 71,289 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in KLA by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,163,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $959,695,000 after purchasing an additional 21,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in KLA by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,113,352 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $917,970,000 after purchasing an additional 81,335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $663.37 on Tuesday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $495.10 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.13 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $741.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $764.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.75 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.74 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Argus lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.90.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.