Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $417,000 Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 717 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 77 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in KLA by 1.9% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 22,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,261,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of KLA by 34.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 80,289 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,382,000 after purchasing an additional 20,773 shares during the period. Prudential PLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 183.1% during the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in KLA by 32.9% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 924 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its position in KLA by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 50,684 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $18,553,000 after buying an additional 2,151 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $676.45 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $681.28 and a 200 day moving average of $589.12. The company has a market capitalization of $91.48 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.34. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $355.88 and a 1 year high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.38 EPS. KLA’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 22.65 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.42.

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.