Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $5.65 Million Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,851 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $360,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $235,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 163.8% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,166 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in KLA by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 5,398 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,138,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $18.50 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $697.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 900,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 935,986. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.94 billion, a PE ratio of 36.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $805.74 and a 200 day moving average of $726.55. KLA Co. has a one year low of $440.15 and a one year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.40 EPS. Analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at $24,399,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,031,630. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on KLA from $990.00 to $960.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on KLA from $730.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $805.29.

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.