Lockerman Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Lockerman Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 364 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth about $355,000. Cairn Investment Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth about $226,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 66.4% in the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 76.0% in the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 632 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, G&S Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth about $662,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total transaction of $5,953,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total transaction of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,748,351.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,861 shares of company stock worth $16,795,913 in the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $22.97 on Friday, hitting $837.84. The stock had a trading volume of 92,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 902,745. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $440.15 and a 1 year high of $876.55. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $755.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $678.53.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.49 EPS. Analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. StockNews.com upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Bank of America lifted their price target on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $747.40.

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.