KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,172 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,174 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in KLA were worth $18,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in KLA during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in KLA by 2,033.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $950.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on KLA in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price objective for the company. Argus increased their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $990.00 to $960.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $805.29.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at $6,063,876.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $25.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $702.80. 1,390,673 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 932,352. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $796.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $750.59. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $440.15 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. 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 stock has a market cap of $94.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

About KLA

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.