Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,890 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 38 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 77.3% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in KLA during the second quarter valued at $44,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at $74,257,998.29. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the 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 directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Trading Up 1.0 %

KLAC stock opened at $673.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $90.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $452.01 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $757.70 and its 200 day moving average is $763.21.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.07 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $804.57.

KLA Company 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.