Bank of Montreal Can Reduces Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 35.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 261,390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 143,376 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.19% of KLA worth $218,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Capital Market Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 808 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $666,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in KLA by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 548 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association raised its stake in KLA by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. United Community Bank raised its stake in KLA by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. United Community Bank now owns 390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, AA Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in KLA by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,257,998.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,257,998.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $950.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup lowered their target price on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $812.80.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $761.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15. The company has a market cap of $102.50 billion, a PE ratio of 39.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $771.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $755.55. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $440.15 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. 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.