Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC Decreases Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lessened its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 59.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 384 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 553 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its position in shares of KLA by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $802.74.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $2.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $701.20. The stock had a trading volume of 954,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,066,282. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $678.12 and a 200-day moving average of $684.20. The company has a market capitalization of $92.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

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.