Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 399 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board trimmed its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 13.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,576 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 399 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of KLA by 2,033.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on KLAC. StockNews.com raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $771.65.

KLA Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of KLAC stock traded down $4.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $805.22. 137,179 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 882,991. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $806.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $711.68. The stock has a market cap of $108.41 billion, a PE ratio of 42.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 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 company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.49 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 23.3 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.