KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Position Lifted by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 25.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,558 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its position in KLA by 77.3% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management grew its position in KLA by 29.8% in the first quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on KLAC. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 target price for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $804.57.

KLA Stock Up 0.7 %

KLAC opened at $803.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $769.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $762.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $452.01 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $108.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.10, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted 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 net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The business 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 firm earned $5.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,257,998.29. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,873 shares of company stock valued at $14,532,193 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About KLA

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.