Monte Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Monte Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,686 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Monte Financial Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its holdings in KLA by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 8,780 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC raised its position in KLA by 1,579.3% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 6,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 6,175 shares during the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 538.5% in the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,765,000 after buying an additional 6,279 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of KLA by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,951 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,756,000 after buying an additional 10,594 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, 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 value of $12,293,259.37. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at $74,257,998.29. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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, Citigroup reduced their target price on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $804.57.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $664.63 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $764.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $764.02. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $452.01 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.49 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued 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 0.87%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

About KLA

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.