Sanctuary Advisors LLC Takes $17.61 Million Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 21,354 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,607,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Capital Market Strategies LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 1.6% during the second quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 808 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $666,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 548 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.0% during the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AA Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 2.7% in the second quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 567 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of KLA stock opened at $777.36 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $448.31 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $104.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.72, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $768.31 and a 200 day moving average of $759.26. 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 (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 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on KLA in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 target price for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $808.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was 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 $2,749,473.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,873 shares of company stock valued at $14,532,193 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Company 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.