KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Position Boosted by Arkadios Wealth Advisors

Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 141.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 969 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in KLA were worth $799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,048,728,000. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in KLA during the first quarter valued at $627,399,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in KLA in the first quarter valued at about $379,678,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in KLA by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,061,469,000 after purchasing an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of KLA by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 997,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $580,008,000 after purchasing an additional 301,848 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded down $8.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $795.75. The stock had a trading volume of 805,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 925,071. The firm has a market cap of $107.14 billion, a PE ratio of 42.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. KLA Co. has a one year low of $440.15 and a one year high of $896.32. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $803.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $745.81.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted 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 net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on KLAC. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $950.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on KLA in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $805.29.

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.