Nikulski Financial Inc. Has $270,000 Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Nikulski Financial Inc. trimmed its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 25.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 464 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 158 shares during the period. Nikulski Financial Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were 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 owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were 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 owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $628.16 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $84.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.34. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $355.88 and a 12 month high of $729.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $684.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $594.71.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a return on equity of 107.56% and a net margin of 27.98%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.46%.

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.