Bensler LLC Increases Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Bensler LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,929 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 525 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises 2.0% of Bensler LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Bensler LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $14,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 77.3% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

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 value of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Susquehanna reduced their target price on KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $805.29.

KLA Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of KLA stock traded up $13.82 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $812.79. 548,666 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 927,470. 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 $109.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average of $804.90 and a 200-day moving average of $745.40. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.38%.

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.