Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. reduced its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 955 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 63 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in KLA were worth $555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $991,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 427 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $307,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 98.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,082 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,872,000 after acquiring an additional 2,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nikulski Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 622 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $696.58.

KLA Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $648.21 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $355.88 and a 12-month high of $729.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.92, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $684.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $597.19.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.38 EPS. Analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.46%.

KLA 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.