1,677 Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Purchased by 1248 Management LLC

1248 Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,677 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $1,057,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 381.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $462,085,000 after acquiring an additional 580,967 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 114,444.5% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $215,809,000 after buying an additional 342,189 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $187,212,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of KLA by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $916,926,000 after buying an additional 292,907 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $21.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $698.16. 851,841 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,063,117. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $679.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $683.49. The company has a market cap of $92.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.26 EPS. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $802.74.

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.