EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 10.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 777 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $9,159,832,000 after purchasing an additional 76,226 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in KLA by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,061,469,000 after acquiring an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in KLA by 2.8% during 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. Norges Bank bought a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,048,728,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in KLA by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,032,017 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $720,936,000 after acquiring an additional 211,227 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value 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 approximately $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $950.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $806.24.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $59.97 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $696.17. 2,071,281 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,064,510. The company has a market cap of $93.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15. KLA Co. has a one year low of $440.15 and a one year high of $896.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $808.65 and a 200 day moving average of $722.79.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

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.