Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,652 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Raymond James lifted 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. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of KLA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $630.00 to $765.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $747.40.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded up $9.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $824.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 849,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 908,458. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $755.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $678.53. KLA Co. has a one year low of $440.15 and a one year high of $876.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock has a market cap of $111.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 23.3 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total transaction of $803,563.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,726,714.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total transaction of $803,563.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,726,714.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,861 shares of company stock worth $16,795,913 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.