Private Advisor Group LLC Has $4.72 Million Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 55.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,722 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,034 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $4,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jensen Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 571,035 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $470,824,000 after buying an additional 22,045 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of KLA by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 39,206 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,326,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its holdings in KLA by 44.7% in the second quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 1,700 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,402,000 after buying an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC raised its position in KLA by 12.1% during the second quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 650 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 24.8% in the second quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 2,366 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $713.46 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $791.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $752.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $440.15 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.40 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Argus upped their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $950.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $805.29.

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.