KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by Zhang Financial LLC

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Capital Market Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 1.6% in the second quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 808 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its position in KLA by 2.6% in the second quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 548 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. United Community Bank increased its position in KLA by 4.0% in the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. AA Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 2.7% during the second quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 1.4% during the first quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup decreased their target price on KLA from $990.00 to $960.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $805.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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 owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,769 shares of company stock valued at $21,324,890. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 1.2 %

KLAC stock traded down $9.97 on Monday, hitting $809.60. 245,624 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 930,388. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $440.15 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $806.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $735.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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