Highland Capital Management LLC Invests $1.52 Million in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,178 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $1,048,728,000. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $627,399,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in KLA by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,061,469,000 after acquiring an additional 386,810 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in KLA by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 997,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $580,008,000 after acquiring an additional 301,848 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its position in KLA by 6,309.1% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 250,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $145,410,000 after acquiring an additional 246,244 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,905 shares of company stock valued at $16,831,966 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Trading Up 0.6 %

KLAC traded up $4.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $857.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 655,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 680,898. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $440.15 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $115.48 billion, a PE ratio of 44.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $795.47 and its 200-day moving average is $700.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $747.40.

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.