Greenleaf Trust Increases Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Greenleaf Trust raised its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,700 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in KLA by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in KLA by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 466 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 4.4% in the third quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 502 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 507 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, 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 value of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded down $16.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $628.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,072,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 780,643. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $355.88 and a twelve month high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $684.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $592.79.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued 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. KLA had a return on equity of 107.56% and a net margin of 27.98%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.42.

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.