E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. decreased its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,710 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 204 shares during the period. KLA accounts for about 1.7% of E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in KLA were worth $31,092,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Market Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.6% in the second quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 808 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.6% in the second quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 548 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.4% in the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. United Community Bank boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.0% in the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, AA Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.7% in the second quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at $6,063,876.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,917 shares of company stock worth $14,568,247. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $739.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $779.79 and a 200 day moving average of $754.41. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $440.15 and a 1 year high of $896.32.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Barclays increased their target price on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James increased their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report 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 research report on Monday, June 17th. UBS Group dropped their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $812.80.

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.