GAMMA Investing LLC Has $1.09 Million Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 43.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,324 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 402 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its position in KLA by 77.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of KLA by 2,033.3% during 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 during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on KLAC. Evercore ISI upped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen boosted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $805.29.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $5,953,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at $24,399,800. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total transaction of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,399,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,905 shares of company stock valued at $16,831,966 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $6.05 on Monday, reaching $702.22. The stock had a trading volume of 973,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 929,232. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $94.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $440.15 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $808.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $725.02.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.38%.

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.