Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Buys 5,943 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 32.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,425 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,943 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $20,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in KLA during the first quarter worth $379,678,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in KLA by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,061,469,000 after purchasing an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in KLA by 43.4% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 997,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $580,008,000 after purchasing an additional 301,848 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in KLA by 25.7% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,032,017 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $720,936,000 after purchasing an additional 211,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in KLA by 136.2% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 309,546 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $214,667,000 after purchasing an additional 178,474 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $758.85 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $440.15 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $102.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $772.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $755.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 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 business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.40 earnings per share. KLA’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 29.09 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,257,998.29. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $812.80.

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.