Zega Financial LLC Cuts Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Zega Financial LLC cut its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 80.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 244 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,012 shares during the quarter. Zega Financial LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 77.3% during the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in KLA in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted 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 acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at $6,063,876.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KLAC. Barclays upped their price target on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $950.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $812.80.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock opened at $739.60 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $779.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $754.41. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $440.15 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.74, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.40 EPS. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.