Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Grows Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,289 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 2,969 shares during the period. KLA accounts for 2.4% of Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in KLA were worth $16,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 77.3% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in KLA by 2,033.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,063,876.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $709.89 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $794.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $752.16. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $440.15 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.58 billion, a PE ratio of 37.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.28.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on KLAC. Argus raised their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $950.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on KLA in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $805.29.

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.