E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Cuts Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lessened its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 59,929 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 11,548 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for 1.1% of E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in KLA were worth $46,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter worth about $280,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 24.1% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 422 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of KLA by 24.5% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 467 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 66.4% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 3.0% during the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 812 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $567,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at $6,063,876.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at $6,063,876.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer started coverage on KLA in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $804.57.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC opened at $666.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $89.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.90, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $452.01 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $764.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $764.02.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.38%.

About KLA

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.