L & S Advisors Inc Decreases Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

L & S Advisors Inc cut its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 77.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA during the second quarter valued at $44,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $736.40 on Tuesday. 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 capitalization of $99.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $782.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $754.26. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $440.15 and a 52-week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $950.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $812.80.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at $2,749,473.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock worth $14,568,247. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.