KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Provence Wealth Management Group

Provence Wealth Management Group lessened its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 28.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 351 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 139 shares during the quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group’s holdings in KLA were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 2.1 %

KLA stock traded up $14.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $696.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 820,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 889,883. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.79 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.33. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $369.66 and a 1 year high of $729.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $687.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $605.39.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 23.24 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on KLA in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on KLA from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. 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 target on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $722.26.

KLA Company 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.