KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Position Decreased by Ayrshire Capital Management LLC

Ayrshire Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,915 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 26 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up 2.5% of Ayrshire Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its stake in KLA by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 8,780 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 1,579.3% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 6,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,589,000 after acquiring an additional 6,175 shares during the period. Objective Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,254,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,951 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,756,000 after acquiring an additional 10,594 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Up 0.7 %

KLAC stock opened at $803.73 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $452.01 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $771.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $763.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $5.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.13 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $804.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,063,876.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.