Avitas Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Avitas Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,055 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $572,224,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156,913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $530,630,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 22.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,074,884 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $759,532,000 after acquiring an additional 385,420 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,844,959 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,133,396,000 after acquiring an additional 268,104 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in KLA by 6,309.1% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 250,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $145,410,000 after buying an additional 246,244 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $14.51 on Friday, reaching $687.26. The stock had a trading volume of 262,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 972,600. The company has a market cap of $92.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $669.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $575.74. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $355.88 and a 12-month high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.38 EPS. Equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 22.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $643.42.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the 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 directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.