Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Has $899,000 Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,854 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in shares of KLA by 97,540.5% in the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 244,466,390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $118,571,088,000 after buying an additional 244,216,016 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in KLA by 1,414.6% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,870,976 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $109,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,615,391 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $572,224,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of KLA by 32.0% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,950,724 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,177,840,000 after purchasing an additional 715,425 shares during the period. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 2nd quarter valued at $205,999,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.49% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 3,155 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.51, for a total transaction of $1,424,514.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,067,558.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, Director Jeneanne Michelle Hanley sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.97, for a total transaction of $254,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,054 shares in the company, valued at $1,554,394.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 3,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.51, for a total transaction of $1,424,514.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,067,558.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 0.5 %

KLA stock traded up $2.66 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $548.06. 102,900 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,040,517. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.34. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $355.88 and a 52-week high of $550.67. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $477.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $467.61.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.39 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 119.24% and a net margin of 30.51%. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 23.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, September 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 14th. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KLAC. UBS Group lifted their price objective on KLA from $475.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $550.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $490.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of KLA from $550.00 to $560.00 in a report on Thursday, October 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $480.00 to $570.00 in a report on Monday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $507.24.

KLA Company 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.