KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Railway Pension Investments Ltd

Railway Pension Investments Ltd trimmed its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,741 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $64,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 77.3% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of KLA by 2,033.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Down 7.9 %

KLA stock traded down $59.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $696.17. The stock had a trading volume of 2,071,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,064,510. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $440.15 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $808.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $722.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market cap of $93.73 billion, a PE ratio of 36.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.40 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,905 shares of company stock valued at $16,831,966 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $806.24.

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.