Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Reduces Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC trimmed its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 37.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,421 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,431 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in KLA by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,285 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,993,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors boosted its stake in KLA by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 623 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Abbrea Capital LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in KLA by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,951 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,756,000 after purchasing an additional 10,594 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $4.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $862.12. 155,336 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,425. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $798.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $703.33. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $440.15 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a market cap of $116.08 billion, a PE ratio of 44.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 23.3 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total transaction of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at $24,399,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total transaction of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at $24,399,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $764.15.

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.