SRS Capital Advisors Inc. Acquires 48 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 518 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 48 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 163.9% in the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $14.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $696.59. 820,130 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 889,883. KLA Co. has a one year low of $369.66 and a one year high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $687.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $605.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.79 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.33.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.49 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 23.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on KLA from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised KLA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price target (up previously from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $722.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA 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.