Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Cuts Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 14.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 312,906 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 52,384 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up approximately 1.2% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $257,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 77.3% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of KLA by 2,033.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $950.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $812.80.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction 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 $2,749,473.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock worth $14,568,247 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $758.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $440.15 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a market cap of $102.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day moving average is $772.98 and its 200 day moving average is $755.00.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

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.