Raymond James & Associates Cuts Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Raymond James & Associates lowered its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,387 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 686 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.10% of KLA worth $110,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in KLA by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,061,469,000 after buying an additional 386,810 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in KLA by 2.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,618,709 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,829,352,000 after buying an additional 71,289 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,048,728,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in KLA by 25.7% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,032,017 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $720,936,000 after buying an additional 211,227 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Down 2.0 %

KLA stock traded down $16.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $819.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 673,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 934,722. The company has a market capitalization of $110.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $440.15 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $806.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $735.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $950.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of KLA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of KLA from $990.00 to $960.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $805.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were 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 owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at $24,399,800. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total transaction of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,769 shares of company stock worth $21,324,890 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.