Claro Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Claro Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 894.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,954 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,445 shares during the period. KLA makes up 1.8% of Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $19,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Swedbank AB raised its position in KLA by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $426,660,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in shares of KLA by 22.3% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 8,780 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 1,579.3% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 6,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 6,175 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 16.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,951 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,756,000 after purchasing an additional 10,594 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Security National Bank increased its stake in shares of KLA by 890.8% in the first quarter. Security National Bank now owns 2,477 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $900.00 to $765.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $804.57.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $6.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $676.98. The company had a trading volume of 238,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 934,425. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $452.01 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $772.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $764.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.13 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,063,876.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,257,998.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,873 shares of company stock valued at $14,532,193. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.