West Paces Advisors Inc. Increases Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

West Paces Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.7% in the third quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 466 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 507 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MWA Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 683 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $680.00 on Wednesday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $355.88 and a 1 year high of $729.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $683.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $590.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.96 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.65 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were paid 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 0.85%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. 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. Raymond James boosted their price objective on KLA from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $688.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, 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 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.