KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. reduced its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 955 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in KLA were worth $555,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in shares of KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $23,059,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Chico Wealth RIA boosted its position in shares of KLA by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Chico Wealth RIA now owns 3,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,250,000 after buying an additional 2,870 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 43,484 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,277,000 after buying an additional 14,251 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd boosted its position in shares of KLA by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd now owns 15,620 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,080,000 after buying an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $997,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of KLA from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $696.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $648.21 on Wednesday. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $355.88 and a 12 month high of $729.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $684.05 and a 200-day moving average of $597.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $87.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.34.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.