KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC reduced its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,136 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,976,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 497,003 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $313,172,000 after purchasing an additional 8,015 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $32,178,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 207,333 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $130,645,000 after purchasing an additional 28,882 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 17,846 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,246,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $1,244,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $802.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $787.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $104.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $690.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $689.04. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.