River Street Advisors LLC Has $1.69 Million Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

River Street Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,416 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for about 1.1% of River Street Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. River Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,688,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $747.40.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC traded up $9.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $824.51. 849,376 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 806,531. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The firm has a market cap of $111.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a one year low of $440.15 and a one year high of $876.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $759.32 and its 200 day moving average is $681.20.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 23.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $5,953,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,399,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 directly owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,861 shares of company stock worth $16,795,913 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About KLA

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.