Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 1,023 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Shell Asset Management Co. cut its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,069 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,023 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in KLA were worth $5,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in KLA by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in shares of KLA by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $802.74.

KLA Stock Down 0.5%

KLAC traded down $4.16 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $787.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,141,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,081,478. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $688.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $688.22. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $104.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.26 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.