CENTRAL TRUST Co Lowers Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

CENTRAL TRUST Co lessened its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,232 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 43 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in KLA were worth $7,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $14,860,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,666 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $378,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 706.4% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,362 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,701,000 after purchasing an additional 6,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 76,452.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,382 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $234,168,000 after purchasing an additional 301,987 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at $6,063,876.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,873 shares of company stock valued at $14,532,193 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $664.63 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $89.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $764.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $764.02. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $452.01 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 29.13 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Argus lifted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $804.57.

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.