KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Position Raised by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,585 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in KLA during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 77.3% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 2,033.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at $74,257,998.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at $74,257,998.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $758.85 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $772.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $755.00. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $440.15 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The firm 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.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.40 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Argus lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup cut their price objective on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $812.80.

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.