Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Acquires 13,752 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 119.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,234 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 13,752 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in KLA were worth $14,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $1,048,728,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156,913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $530,630,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of KLA by 43.4% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 997,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $580,008,000 after buying an additional 301,848 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in KLA by 6,309.1% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 250,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $145,410,000 after buying an additional 246,244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth $132,189,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction 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 approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total value of $5,953,080.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,136 shares of company stock valued at $24,016,781. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price target (up previously from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Barclays raised KLA from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $630.00 to $765.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $733.90.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $34.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $784.97. 921,875 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 919,579. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $440.15 and a 52 week high of $791.96. The firm has a market cap of $105.69 billion, a PE ratio of 40.62, a PEG ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.28. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $711.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $648.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.49 EPS. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 23.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

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.