KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,963 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $9,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Capital Market Strategies LLC grew its stake in KLA by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 808 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in KLA by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 548 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its position in KLA by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,679,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. United Community Bank boosted its position in KLA by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. United Community Bank now owns 390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, AA Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in KLA by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $739.60 on Wednesday. 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $779.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $754.41. The firm has a market cap of $99.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.74, a PEG ratio of 1.49 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,917 shares of company stock worth $14,568,247. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James boosted their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Argus upped their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $812.80.

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.