Certuity LLC Sells 50 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Certuity LLC reduced its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 426 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Certuity LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in KLA by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 30,558 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $14,016,000 after buying an additional 4,089 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.8% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 94,420 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $43,307,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 8.4% in the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in KLA by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 132,622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $60,828,000 after acquiring an additional 7,271 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in KLA by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 31,568 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $14,479,000 after purchasing an additional 953 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other 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 transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, 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.

KLA Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $666.04 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $687.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $604.86. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $369.66 and a 12-month high of $729.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $89.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.33.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 23.24 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 price target (up from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $722.26.

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.