Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Takes $4.12 Million Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 5,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,123,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,112,261 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,159,832,000 after purchasing an additional 76,226 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in KLA by 12.2% in 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 buying an additional 386,810 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,829,352,000 after acquiring an additional 71,289 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $1,048,728,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of KLA by 7.9% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,113,352 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $917,970,000 after acquiring an additional 81,335 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $23.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $819.43. 1,079,372 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 952,207. The company has a market capitalization of $110.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 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 1-year low of $440.15 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $803.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $747.34.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 30.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on KLAC. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on KLA in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $820.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on KLA from $990.00 to $960.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $805.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

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 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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at $6,063,876.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,917 shares of company stock valued at $14,568,247. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.