MBB Public Markets I LLC Takes Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,541 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,867,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,159,832,000 after purchasing an additional 76,226 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,061,469,000 after buying an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in KLA by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,318,329,000 after buying an additional 28,172 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in KLA by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,618,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,829,352,000 after acquiring an additional 71,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,113,352 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $917,970,000 after acquiring an additional 81,335 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 4.2 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $804.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $440.15 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $768.91 and a 200 day moving average of $756.16. The firm has a market cap of $108.32 billion, a PE ratio of 42.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.40 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the completion of 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 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Argus lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $809.81.

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.