Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,851 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 77.3% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 2,033.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on KLAC. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup cut their price target on KLA from $990.00 to $960.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Barclays increased their target price on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on KLA in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $820.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $805.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,031,630. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded down $18.50 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $697.72. 900,454 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 935,986. The company has a market capitalization of $93.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $805.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $726.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $440.15 and a 52-week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly 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. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

KLA 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.