Kestra Advisory Services LLC Buys 1,973 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Rating) by 67.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,882 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,973 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Win Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 61.4% during the 2nd quarter. Win Advisors Inc. now owns 113 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 87.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays cut shares of KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Monday. Susquehanna Bancshares increased their target price on shares of KLA from $350.00 to $355.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 27th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of KLA from $350.00 to $355.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 27th. Berenberg Bank lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $289.00 to $318.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $382.76.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock opened at $425.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.00, a quick ratio of 1.67 and a current ratio of 2.43. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $250.20 and a 52 week high of $428.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $390.87 and its 200 day moving average is $355.65. The firm has a market cap of $60.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.36.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 26th. The semiconductor company reported $7.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $0.84. The business had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.59 billion. KLA had a net margin of 33.28% and a return on equity of 120.41%. Research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 24.99 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 15th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 3,127 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $1,250,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,911,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

KLA Profile

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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 four segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; PCB, Display and Component Inspection; and Other.