Lafayette Investments Inc. Has $11.24 Million Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Lafayette Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,329 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 94 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up 2.8% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $11,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in KLA by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. West Paces Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in KLA by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 466 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 502 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 507 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Berenberg Bank raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.42.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC traded down $14.76 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $644.22. The company had a trading volume of 902,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 961,445. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.91. The company has a market capitalization of $87.12 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.34. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $355.88 and a twelve month high of $729.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $684.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $591.25.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.38 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 29.46%.

KLA Company 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.