Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 666 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 19 shares during the period. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in KLA by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,450 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of KLA by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,059,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its stake in shares of KLA by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 26,626 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $15,478,000 after buying an additional 1,692 shares during the period. Chico Wealth RIA lifted its stake in KLA by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Chico Wealth RIA now owns 3,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 2,870 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 43,484 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $25,277,000 after acquiring an additional 14,251 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $722.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were 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 approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $696.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $369.66 and a 52-week high of $729.15. The stock has a market cap of $93.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $687.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $605.39.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.49 EPS. Equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 23.24 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

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.