Caprock Group LLC Increases Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Caprock Group LLC increased its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 281.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,743 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,236 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Market Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 808 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $666,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 2.6% in the second quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 548 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in KLA by 0.4% in the second quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank increased its position in shares of KLA by 4.0% during the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AA Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, 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 news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,063,876.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at $74,257,998.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on KLA from $990.00 to $960.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $820.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $950.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $805.29.

KLA Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $702.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $94.62 billion, a PE ratio of 36.82, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $440.15 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $796.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $751.28. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

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.