Howard Capital Management Inc. Raises Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,028 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 74 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up about 0.7% of Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $6,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in KLA by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $210,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $248,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,120 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,395,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $295,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related 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 value of $36,053.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,917 shares of company stock worth $14,568,247 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 3.5 %

KLAC stock opened at $702.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $94.62 billion, a PE ratio of 36.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $796.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $750.59. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $440.15 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective 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. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Raymond James boosted their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Nine investment 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $805.29.

KLA 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.