KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Acquired by Smith Salley Wealth Management

Smith Salley Wealth Management grew its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 11.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,244 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in KLA were worth $869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of KLA by 2,033.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 64 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock traded up $8.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $874.90. The company had a trading volume of 409,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 888,191. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $780.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $693.45. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $440.15 and a 1 year high of $879.89. 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 company has a market capitalization of $117.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during 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%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 23.3 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on KLAC. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on KLA in a report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $820.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $747.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.