KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Sierra Summit Advisors LLC

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 67.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 275 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 570 shares during the period. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. 9258 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in KLA by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,393 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $810,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its stake in KLA by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,164 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 705 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in shares of KLA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,416 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC opened at $736.40 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $782.50 and its two-hundred 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. The company has a market cap of $99.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.58, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Citigroup cut their price target on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $812.80.

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.