Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 17.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,743 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,212 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $17,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $9,159,832,000 after buying an additional 76,226 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of KLA by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,061,469,000 after acquiring an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,618,709 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,829,352,000 after acquiring an additional 71,289 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,048,728,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in KLA by 25.7% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,032,017 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $720,936,000 after purchasing an additional 211,227 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.
KLA Trading Down 1.0 %
Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $8.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $804.27. The company had a trading volume of 647,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 925,774. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. KLA Co. has a one year low of $440.15 and a one year high of $896.32. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $803.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $745.81. The stock has a market cap of $108.29 billion, a PE ratio of 42.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27.
KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current year.
KLA Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. KLA's payout ratio is currently 30.38%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research firms have recently issued reports on KLAC. Citigroup decreased their target price on KLA from $990.00 to $960.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Argus raised their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised KLA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $805.29.
View Our Latest Research Report on KLAC
Insider Activity at KLA
In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.
KLA Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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