Ieq Capital LLC Buys 621 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,935 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $6,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 9258 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $210,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in KLA by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 4,041 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,349,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in KLA by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 40,048 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $23,279,000 after acquiring an additional 3,347 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $562,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 703 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $758.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $440.15 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $772.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $754.66.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $950.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $812.80.

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.