KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Dover Advisors LLC

Dover Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,872 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 628 shares during the period. KLA comprises about 2.2% of Dover Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 163.9% in the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 4.9 %

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $33.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $706.26. 1,193,523 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 821,545. The company has a market capitalization of $95.51 billion, a PE ratio of 37.00, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $369.00 and a 52 week high of $729.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $685.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $601.50.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 103.31% and a net margin of 27.19%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI began coverage on KLA in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $720.42.

KLA 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.