Perpetual Ltd Reduces Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Perpetual Ltd lessened its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 20.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,333 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Montecito Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 61.6% during the first quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 1,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 11.7% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 428 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth $53,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 25.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 922 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth $3,455,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $829.59 on Friday. KLA Co. has a one year low of $440.15 and a one year high of $876.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $741.37 and a 200 day moving average of $668.97. The company has a market capitalization of $111.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.46, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The business’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 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 23.3 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,136 shares of company stock valued at $24,016,781 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group increased their price objective on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $747.40.

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.