DRW Securities LLC Takes Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $754,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,159,832,000 after purchasing an additional 76,226 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in KLA by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,061,469,000 after buying an additional 386,810 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of KLA by 1.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,318,329,000 after buying an additional 28,172 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,618,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,829,352,000 after acquiring an additional 71,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,113,352 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $917,970,000 after acquiring an additional 81,335 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other KLA 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Trading Down 1.8 %

KLAC stock opened at $758.85 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $102.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $440.15 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $772.98 and its 200-day moving average is $755.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The firm 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. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $950.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.