Ascent Group LLC Has $1.53 Million Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 35.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,184 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 77.3% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of KLA by 2,033.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $8.85 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $778.54. 627,018 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 905,372. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $809.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $717.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $440.15 and a 52 week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on KLA in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price target for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $806.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.