Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Boosts Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,708 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 315 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in KLA by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. West Paces Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 502 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in KLA by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 507 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, MWA Asset Management grew its holdings in KLA by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 683 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $397,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $4.00 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $714.38. 782,703 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 955,340. The stock has a market cap of $96.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.33. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $688.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $610.35. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $374.49 and a 52-week high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 23.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price objective (up from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $722.26.

About KLA

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.