KLA Corporation $KLAC Stock: King Luther Capital Management Corp Decreases Holdings

King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 17.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,915 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 6,745 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in KLA were worth $6,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Formuepleje A S lifted its stake in KLA by 1,125.5% in the second quarter. Formuepleje A S now owns 30,062 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,070,000 after buying an additional 27,609 shares during the last quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 829.7% during the second quarter. TOWER TRUST & INVESTMENT Co now owns 7,456 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 6,654 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of KLA by 7.7% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 275,745 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,751,000 after acquiring an additional 19,700 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 1,195.3% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 14,948 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,510,000 after acquiring an additional 13,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 40.1% during the third quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 28,728 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,600,000 after acquiring an additional 8,225 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard Wallace sold 72,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.88, for a total value of $12,378,625.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 706,925 shares in the company, valued at $121,506,269. This trade represents a 9.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 79.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KLAC. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $215.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of KLA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (down from $190.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $225.00 price target on KLA in a report on Thursday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.35.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $157.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $204.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.33, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.75. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $107.20 and a fifty-two week high of $307.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.04 billion. KLA had a net margin of 36.25% and a return on equity of 89.30%. KLA’s revenue was up 28.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.00%.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation develops process-control and yield-management technologies used in the manufacture of semiconductors and other electronic products. Its systems help manufacturers detect defects, measure features and monitor production processes as they make increasingly complex devices. The company’s products include inspection and metrology equipment, as well as software and related services. Its technologies support multiple stages of semiconductor production, from work on wafers and reticles to advanced packaging.