KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stake Cut by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,935 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 2,136 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned about 0.09% of KLA worth $70,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its position in KLA by 163.9% in the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in KLA by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $706.26 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $685.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $599.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $369.00 and a 12 month high of $729.15. The company has a market capitalization of $95.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 103.31% and a net margin of 27.19%. KLA’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the 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 sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America increased 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $720.42.

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.