First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Buys 569 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,096 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,450 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $843,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in shares of KLA by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $23,059,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its position in shares of KLA by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 26,626 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $15,478,000 after acquiring an additional 1,692 shares during the period. Chico Wealth RIA boosted its position in shares of KLA by 287.0% in the fourth quarter. Chico Wealth RIA now owns 3,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 2,870 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 43,484 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,277,000 after acquiring an additional 14,251 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was 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 owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup increased their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $722.26.

KLA Trading Up 0.6 %

KLAC traded up $4.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $670.34. 107,106 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 954,477. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14. KLA Co. has a one year low of $369.66 and a one year high of $729.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.33. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $687.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $604.86.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

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.