Fiera Capital Corp Decreases Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fiera Capital Corp trimmed its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 13.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,685 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,325 shares during the quarter. Fiera Capital Corp’s holdings in KLA were worth $7,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Strategies L.L.C. purchased a new stake in KLA in the second quarter valued at $419,000. Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in KLA by 1.4% in the second quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 1,853 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.2% during the second quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 53,015 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $43,711,000 after purchasing an additional 3,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 43.2% during the second quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 1,024 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Raymond James increased their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price objective on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $805.29.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Trading Down 9.5 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $741.43 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $802.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $750.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.83 billion, a PE ratio of 38.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $440.15 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

About KLA

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.