Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Sells 55 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. reduced its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,327 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at $216,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in KLA by 1.0% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 77,710 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $64,071,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 8.0% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 24,403 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $20,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter valued at about $256,000. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 3.4% in the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 2,585 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,131,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $758.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.17 billion, a PE ratio of 39.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $772.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $754.66. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $440.15 and a 1 year 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.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. KLA’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.40 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business 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 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, 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 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $950.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James boosted 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.