GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. cut its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,725 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 527 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $14,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,781,000. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,050,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 8,780 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 1,579.3% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 6,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,589,000 after buying an additional 6,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Objective Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth $213,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Trading Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $733.28 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $440.15 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $787.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $752.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.41, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on KLAC. Raymond James raised their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Citigroup cut their price target on KLA from $990.00 to $960.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays raised their target price 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, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $805.52.

KLA Company 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.