Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Sells 55 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lowered its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,136 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 780 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $492,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 39.6% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,969 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,241,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of KLA by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 590 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $372,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,790 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,018,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 699 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 0.5%

KLAC stock opened at $787.01 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $690.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $689.04. The stock has a market cap of $104.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.10, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.26 EPS. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 target price (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.