Certuity LLC Has $248,000 Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Certuity LLC lessened its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 426 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in KLA by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 4.4% in the third quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 502 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 507 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MWA Asset Management grew its position in KLA by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 683 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLAC. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI started coverage on KLA in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $750.00 target price (up from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $722.26.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Stock Down 3.4 %

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $666.04 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $687.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $604.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.68 billion, a PE ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.33. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $369.66 and a fifty-two week high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.49 EPS. KLA’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 23.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 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.