Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $4 Million Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,846 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 780 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Market Strategies LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 1.6% in the second quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 808 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $666,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 2.6% in the second quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 548 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in KLA by 0.4% in the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank lifted its stake in KLA by 4.0% in the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AA Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 2.7% in the second quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $467,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $812.80.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $731.04 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $440.15 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $98.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $776.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $754.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares in the company, 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, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.