KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lowered its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 576 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 14 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 77.3% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management increased its position in shares of KLA by 29.8% in the first quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $803.73 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $771.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $764.31. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $452.01 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $108.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.40 EPS. Research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.13 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 price target on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $804.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at $2,749,473.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

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.