abrdn plc Has $34.81 Million Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

abrdn plc boosted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 60.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,890 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,619 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in KLA were worth $34,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. CWM LLC raised its stake in KLA by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of KLA by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,129 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 427 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA by 12.4% in the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 481 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, April 1st. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.42.

KLA Trading Up 0.9 %

KLAC opened at $633.64 on Tuesday. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $355.88 and a twelve month high of $729.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $683.91 and a 200-day moving average of $595.92. The stock has a market cap of $85.69 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.