Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Purchases New Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC bought a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,610 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $936,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its position in KLA by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in KLA by 4.4% during the third quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 502 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in KLA by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 507 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, MWA Asset Management lifted its position in KLA by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 683 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com upgraded KLA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America raised their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on KLA in a report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $820.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $727.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,284 shares of company stock worth $17,260,138 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $6.57 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $771.71. 768,235 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 931,001. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $404.80 and a twelve month high of $778.43. The firm has a market cap of $103.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.33. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $698.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $632.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. KLA's payout ratio is 30.38%.

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.