Nvwm LLC Buys 26 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Nvwm LLC raised its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,993 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Nvwm LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,341,000. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter worth about $16,446,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 229,019 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $105,042,000 after buying an additional 19,167 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,159,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,449,135,000 after buying an additional 190,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headinvest LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $766,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of KLAC traded up $4.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $857.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 655,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 680,898. The company’s 50-day moving average is $795.47 and its 200-day moving average is $700.64. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $440.15 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.93, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total transaction of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other KLA 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 owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total transaction of $5,953,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KLAC. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Barclays raised shares of KLA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $630.00 to $765.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $747.40.

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.