Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 286,015 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,399,367 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 286,015 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises approximately 1.2% of Van ECK Associates Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 1.04% of KLA worth $1,083,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA by 0.6% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in KLA by 1.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,811,766 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,318,329,000 after purchasing an additional 28,172 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in KLA by 2.8% during the first 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 buying an additional 71,289 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of KLA by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,163,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $959,695,000 after purchasing an additional 21,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in KLA by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 691,039 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $569,758,000 after purchasing an additional 56,109 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Up 0.5 %

KLAC opened at $669.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.13. KLA Co. has a one year low of $484.33 and a one year high of $896.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $744.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $763.38.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported $7.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.03 by $0.30. KLA had a return on equity of 105.16% and a net margin of 28.92%. The company had revenue of $2.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. 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. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. This represents 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. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on KLAC. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $725.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $750.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup cut their target price on KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on KLA from $890.00 to $750.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.90.

KLA 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.