Sierra Capital LLC Increases Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sierra Capital LLC increased its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 409 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the quarter. Sierra Capital LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the second quarter worth about $44,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of KLA 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,873 shares of company stock valued at $14,532,193 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded down $6.31 on Tuesday, hitting $667.30. 295,540 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 934,969. 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 50-day moving average price of $769.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $764.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $452.01 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 29.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Argus increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer started coverage on KLA in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average 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.