Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Lowers Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. cut its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,933 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. KLA makes up about 1.4% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned 0.07% of KLA worth $50,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,284 shares of company stock worth $17,260,138. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded down $10.22 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $749.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 750,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 936,167. 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 Co. has a one year low of $404.80 and a one year high of $763.93. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $692.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $622.15. The stock has a market cap of $100.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.33.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. KLA’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 23.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $727.15.

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.