Exchange Capital Management Inc. Sells 622 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Exchange Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,593 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 622 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises approximately 2.0% of Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $12,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in KLA by 2,033.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $7.48 on Tuesday, hitting $835.27. The stock had a trading volume of 213,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 899,934. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $759.32 and its 200-day moving average is $681.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $440.15 and a 52-week high of $876.55.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.49 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total transaction of $5,953,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $5,953,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total transaction of $803,563.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,726,714.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,861 shares of company stock worth $16,795,913 in the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. 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 price target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $747.40.

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.