Cetera Advisors LLC Increases Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 399.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,359 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,487 shares during the quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $6,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. United Community Bank increased its position in shares of KLA by 4.0% during the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.4% during the first quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 518 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in KLA by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its position in KLA by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $59.97 on Friday, hitting $696.17. 2,071,281 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,064,510. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $808.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $722.79. The firm has a market cap of $93.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $440.15 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total transaction of $803,563.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,726,714.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James lifted their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $806.24.

About KLA

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.