Monument Capital Management Raises Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Monument Capital Management grew its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 484 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the quarter. Monument Capital Management’s holdings in KLA were worth $338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in KLA by 2,033.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $853.33 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $770.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $686.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.70, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $440.15 and a twelve month high of $876.55.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.49 EPS. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 23.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $747.40.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total transaction of $803,563.02. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,356 shares in the company, valued at $24,726,714.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Company 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.