KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stake Lowered by Morse Asset Management Inc

Morse Asset Management Inc decreased its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 10,644 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the period. KLA comprises 2.1% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in KLA were worth $8,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in KLA by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,159,832,000 after purchasing an additional 76,226 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in KLA by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,061,469,000 after buying an additional 386,810 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in KLA by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,318,329,000 after acquiring an additional 28,172 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in KLA by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,618,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,829,352,000 after acquiring an additional 71,289 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of KLA by 7.9% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,113,352 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $917,970,000 after purchasing an additional 81,335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna cut their target price on KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $812.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the 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 completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,749,473.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $758.85 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $772.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $755.28. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $440.15 and a 52 week high of $896.32. 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 company has a market cap of $102.17 billion, a PE ratio of 39.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

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.