Cadent Capital Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 903 KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Cadent Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 903 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $699,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $379,678,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in KLA by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,032,017 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $720,936,000 after buying an additional 211,227 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 2,205.8% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 201,592 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $166,215,000 after acquiring an additional 192,849 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in shares of KLA by 136.2% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 309,546 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $214,667,000 after acquiring an additional 178,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 56.2% in the first quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 302,782 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $211,514,000 after purchasing an additional 108,900 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $804.57.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at $74,257,998.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total value of $12,293,259.37. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,873 shares of company stock valued at $14,532,193. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $678.52 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $770.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $764.33. 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 firm has a market cap of $91.36 billion, a PE ratio of 35.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27.

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 the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $5.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.85%. 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.