KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Bought by Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC

Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 34.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,446 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing 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.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.42.

Insider Activity at KLA

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

KLA Trading Down 2.2 %

KLA stock traded down $14.76 during trading on Thursday, hitting $644.22. The company had a trading volume of 902,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 961,445. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $355.88 and a 1-year high of $729.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $684.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $591.25. The stock has a market cap of $87.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.46%.

KLA Company Profile

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.