Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC Raises Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 398 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Capital Market Strategies LLC raised its position in KLA by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 808 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.7% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 366 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 548 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in KLA by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 3,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, United Community Bank raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. United Community Bank now owns 390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $870.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of KLA from $960.00 to $900.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $804.57.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total transaction of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,063,876.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded down $121.93 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $707.72. 2,867,980 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 926,091. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.08, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $774.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $765.24. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $452.01 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 29.13 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

About KLA

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.