KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by L & S Advisors Inc

L & S Advisors Inc trimmed its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,050 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 91 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth $29,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 4,515 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $825.39.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $673.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $89.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.30. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $609.40 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $727.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $703.04.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. On average, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.