KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Acquired by Security National Bank

Security National Bank grew its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 890.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,477 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 2,227 shares during the quarter. Security National Bank’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,726,714.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 22,861 shares of company stock worth $16,795,913. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $15.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $802.06. 280,923 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 909,067. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market cap of $107.99 billion, a PE ratio of 42.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $440.15 and a fifty-two week high of $876.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $748.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $676.62.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given 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 dividend yield of 0.72%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Raymond James upped their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $747.40.

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.