Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Buys Shares of 1,110 KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,110 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $700,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Norges Bank bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 381.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $462,085,000 after acquiring an additional 580,967 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in KLA by 114,444.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth $187,212,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted 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 worth $916,926,000 after purchasing an additional 292,907 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $2.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $701.20. 954,989 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,066,282. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $678.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $684.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna raised their price objective on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $802.74.

About KLA

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.