River Street Advisors LLC Has $1.34 Million Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

River Street Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,304 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. River Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in shares of KLA by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $23,059,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Chico Wealth RIA boosted its position in shares of KLA by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Chico Wealth RIA now owns 3,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 2,870 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,754,000. Jackson Square Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 8,337 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,846,000 after acquiring an additional 2,442 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathstone Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 179.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 9,535 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,373,000 after acquiring an additional 6,117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were 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 approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded down $19.83 on Friday, reaching $680.78. 810,828 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 795,786. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $355.88 and a 52 week high of $729.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $680.01 and a 200 day moving average of $586.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.06 billion, a PE ratio of 34.57, a PEG ratio of 3.31 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.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. KLA’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.38 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 22.65 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $671.84.

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.