Edgestream Partners L.P. Sells 1,752 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Edgestream Partners L.P. decreased its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 25.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,115 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,752 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of KLA by 1.9% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 22,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,261,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in KLA by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 80,289 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,382,000 after acquiring an additional 20,773 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC increased its stake in KLA by 183.1% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 32.9% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 924 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 4.4% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 50,684 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $18,553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of KLA from $490.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on KLA from $410.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on KLA from $445.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Barclays increased their price target on KLA from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $507.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 3,155 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.51, for a total value of $1,424,514.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,067,558.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other KLA news, Director Jeneanne Michelle Hanley sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.97, for a total transaction of $254,485.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,554,394.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 3,155 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.51, for a total value of $1,424,514.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,067,558.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $544.54 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $355.88 and a 1 year high of $550.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The business’s 50-day moving average is $479.70 and its 200 day moving average is $469.90.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.39 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. KLA had a net margin of 30.51% and a return on equity of 119.24%. On average, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 23.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.01%.

KLA announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

About KLA

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.