Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Acquires 3,371 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 204.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,022 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 77.3% during the 1st 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 during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management increased its position in KLA by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC opened at $803.73 on Monday. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $452.01 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $771.73 and a 200 day moving average of $764.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15. The firm has a market cap of $108.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.10, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 29.13 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 price target on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $804.57.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.