3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 462 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $381,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 77.3% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in KLA in the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in KLA by 2,033.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $753.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.48, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a one year low of $448.31 and a one year high of $896.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $767.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $759.14. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. The business’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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $74,257,998.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Argus raised their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $808.62.

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.