LRI Investments LLC Invests $46,000 in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Quality Fund GP Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $19,420,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in KLA by 49.3% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 167,479 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $116,996,000 after purchasing an additional 55,269 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl grew its position in KLA by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 11,143 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $7,784,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 119.9% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,520 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares during the period. Finally, Delap Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at about $323,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total transaction of $803,563.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 31,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,726,714.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at $66,748,351.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,905 shares of company stock worth $16,831,966 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC traded up $24.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $787.39. The company had a trading volume of 1,047,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 842,597. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $440.15 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a market capitalization of $106.01 billion, a PE ratio of 41.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $809.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $716.85.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a net margin of 28.15% and a return on equity of 103.50%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James raised their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $950.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $806.24.

KLA 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.