EP Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC – Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,015 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP raised its stake in KLA by 118.9% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 81 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. First Manhattan Co. raised its stake in KLA by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Advisors grew its holdings in KLA by 185.4% in the 1st quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 137 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.49% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, Director Jeneanne Michelle Hanley sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.97, for a total value of $254,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,054 shares in the company, valued at $1,554,394.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 2,621 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.55, for a total value of $1,243,795.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,699 shares in the company, valued at $1,755,360.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeneanne Michelle Hanley sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.97, for a total value of $254,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,554,394.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 43,986 shares of company stock worth $22,071,950. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $456.51 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $250.20 and a twelve month high of $520.19. The company has a market cap of $62.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $486.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $439.08.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The semiconductor company reported $5.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.58. KLA had a return on equity of 138.06% and a net margin of 32.27%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.81 EPS. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 22.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, September 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 14th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, September 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on KLA from $450.00 to $535.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on KLA from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on KLA from $490.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $463.11.

Read Our Latest Report on KLAC

KLA Profile

(Free Report)

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.