Fiera Capital Corp Sells 1,325 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fiera Capital Corp cut its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,685 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,325 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp's holdings in KLA were worth $7,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 77.3% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 2,033.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Argus upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $805.29.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded up $3.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $745.11. 926,767 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 930,324. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $440.15 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $802.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $750.49. The company has a market capitalization of $100.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.27. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.40 earnings per share. KLA's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.