Heritage Wealth Management Inc. Invests $1.94 Million in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Heritage Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,263 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $1,050,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its holdings in KLA by 22.3% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 8,780 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 1,579.3% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 6,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 6,175 shares during the period. Objective Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $2,254,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at $74,257,998.29. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $808.62.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $753.69 on Wednesday. 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 one year low of $448.31 and a one year high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.48 billion, a PE ratio of 39.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $767.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $759.14.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend payout ratio is 30.38%.

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.