Chapman Investment Management LLC Sells 24 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Chapman Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,370 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 24 shares during the period. KLA accounts for approximately 1.0% of Chapman Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Chapman Investment Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its position in KLA by 52.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156,913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $530,630,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in KLA by 6,309.1% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 250,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $145,410,000 after purchasing an additional 246,244 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth $132,189,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in KLA by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,159,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,449,135,000 after purchasing an additional 190,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in KLA by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,365,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $626,431,000 after acquiring an additional 153,752 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Evercore ISI started coverage on KLA in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen increased their price target on KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price target (up from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $720.42.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock traded up $33.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $706.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,193,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,545. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $369.00 and a 12-month high of $729.15. The company has a market capitalization of $95.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.00, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.91. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $685.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $599.79.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 103.31%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.49 EPS. KLA’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

KLA Company 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.