Dover Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Dover Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,872 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 628 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up 2.2% of Dover Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of KLA by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 4.9 %

KLA stock traded up $33.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $706.26. 1,193,523 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 821,545. KLA Co. has a one year low of $369.00 and a one year high of $729.15. The company has a market cap of $95.51 billion, a PE ratio of 37.00, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $685.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $601.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 103.31% and a net margin of 27.19%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related 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 value of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on KLAC. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $720.42.

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.