Candriam S.C.A. Buys 9,695 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,231 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,695 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in KLA were worth $49,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in KLA by 77.3% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $702.80 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $796.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $750.59. The firm has a market cap of $94.62 billion, a PE ratio of 36.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $440.15 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on KLA in a report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $805.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at $74,257,998.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,917 shares of company stock worth $14,568,247 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA 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.