Strs Ohio Lowers Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Strs Ohio lowered its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,229 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,897 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in KLA were worth $29,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in KLA by 1.9% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 22,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,261,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 34.9% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 183.1% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 32.9% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.4% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, April 1st. New Street Research began coverage on KLA in a report on Monday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $671.84.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $678.49 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $681.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $589.12. The company has a market capitalization of $91.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G 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. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $355.88 and a fifty-two week high of $729.15.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

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.