Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 358 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in shares of KLA by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC increased 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 buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MWA Asset Management increased its stake in shares of KLA by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 683 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following 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 available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised 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. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on KLA in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James raised their price target on KLA from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $688.42.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $658.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $355.88 and a 1 year high of $729.15. The stock has a market cap of $89.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $684.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $591.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 107.56% and a net margin of 27.98%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.38 EPS. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.46%.

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.