Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 19,189 KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 19,189 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,860,000. KLA accounts for approximately 1.3% of Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB raised its position in KLA by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 550,949 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $426,660,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its stake in shares of KLA by 22.3% during the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 8,780 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC grew its stake in KLA by 538.5% in the third quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 7,445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,765,000 after purchasing an additional 6,279 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its stake in KLA by 1,579.3% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 6,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 6,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in KLA by 16.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 76,951 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $53,756,000 after purchasing an additional 10,594 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,063,876.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $649.84, for a total value of $536,118.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,749,473.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mary Beth Wilkinson sold 2,611 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $652.17, for a total value of $1,702,815.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,298 shares in the company, valued at $6,063,876.66. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,873 shares of company stock valued at $14,532,193 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $664.63 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $452.01 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $89.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.82, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $764.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $764.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 29.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on KLAC. StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Argus lifted their price target on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer began coverage on KLA in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $750.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on KLA from $735.00 to $838.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $804.57.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.