Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,175 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 1,886 shares during the quarter. KLA accounts for 2.2% of Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in KLA were worth $17,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 77.3% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 39 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth $44,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $680.00 to $675.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 11th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $804.57.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC opened at $670.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $766.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $764.72. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $452.01 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $90.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.10, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total transaction of $536,118.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,749,473.04. This represents 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 through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 17,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.01, for a total transaction of $12,293,259.37. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,257,998.29. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,873 shares of company stock worth $14,532,193. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Profile

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.