Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 11.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,759 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,432 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $23,583,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,036,035 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $7,577,847,000 after buying an additional 133,821 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of KLA by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,061,469,000 after buying an additional 386,810 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth $1,048,728,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of KLA by 3.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,598,677 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $733,249,000 after buying an additional 54,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of KLA by 12.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,365,784 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $626,431,000 after buying an additional 153,752 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $23.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $666.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,273,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 964,826. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14. The stock has a market cap of $89.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.34. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $369.66 and a 12 month high of $729.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $687.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $604.86.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. KLA's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 22.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued 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 0.87%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price target on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $750.00 price target (up previously from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Susquehanna restated a "neutral" rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $722.26.

About KLA

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.

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