Chapin Davis Inc. Trims Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Chapin Davis Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,062 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. KLA makes up 0.8% of Chapin Davis Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Chapin Davis Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,036,035 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,577,847,000 after acquiring an additional 133,821 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in KLA by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,061,469,000 after purchasing an additional 386,810 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,048,728,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in KLA by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,267,811 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $581,496,000 after purchasing an additional 117,584 shares during the period. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 52.8% in the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156,913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $530,630,000 after buying an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $824.51 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $759.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $681.98. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $440.15 and a 52-week high of $876.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $111.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, April 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $747.40.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total value of $803,563.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,726,714.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,861 shares of company stock worth $16,795,913. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.