AdvisorShares Investments LLC Sells 267 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 595 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 267 shares during the period. AdvisorShares Investments LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in KLA by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,480 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,511,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $4,559,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $15,781,000. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,050,000. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its position 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 last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,257,998.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,257,998.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Up 0.5 %

KLAC opened at $713.46 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $791.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $752.48. The company has a market capitalization of $96.06 billion, a PE ratio of 37.37, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $440.15 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna cut their target price on KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on KLA from $990.00 to $960.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $805.29.

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.