KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Geneva Partners LLC

Geneva Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,344 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 453 shares during the period. KLA accounts for 2.4% of Geneva Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Geneva Partners LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in KLA by 1.9% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 22,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,261,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in KLA by 34.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 80,289 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,382,000 after purchasing an additional 20,773 shares during the period. Prudential PLC raised its position in KLA by 183.1% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in KLA by 32.9% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 924 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its position in KLA by 4.4% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 50,684 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $18,553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $16.06 on Friday, hitting $628.16. 1,072,551 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 962,979. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $684.19 and its 200 day moving average is $592.79. The company has a market capitalization of $84.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.34. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $355.88 and a 1-year high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.91.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 107.56% and a net margin of 27.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.38 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their price objective on KLA from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on KLA in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.42.

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.