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

GraniteShares Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,717 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 357 shares during the period. GraniteShares Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC traded up $14.82 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $693.31. 922,431 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 959,091. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $355.88 and a 1-year high of $729.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.76 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.91. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $681.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $589.12.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

Insider Activity at KLA

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on KLAC. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.42.

KLA Company 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.