KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co trimmed its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,385 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. APG Asset Management US Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,781,000. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,050,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its position in shares of KLA by 22.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 1,579.3% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 6,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,589,000 after acquiring an additional 6,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Objective Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $213,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James upped their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. StockNews.com lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays upped their price target on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $812.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,257,998.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $731.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. 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 Co. has a one year low of $440.15 and a one year high of $896.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $776.57 and its 200-day moving average is $754.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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