Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 34.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,446 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the period. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in KLA by 1.9% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 22,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,261,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of KLA by 34.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 80,289 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,382,000 after acquiring an additional 20,773 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 183.1% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 32.9% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 924 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its position in shares of KLA by 4.4% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 50,684 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $18,553,000 after acquiring an additional 2,151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC traded down $14.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $644.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 902,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 961,445. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $684.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $591.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $355.88 and a fifty-two week high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.38 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.42.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by 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.