Crestline Management LP Acquires 26,223 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Crestline Management LP grew its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 376.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,195 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 26,223 shares during the period. KLA makes up 0.7% of Crestline Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Crestline Management LP's holdings in KLA were worth $20,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,313,000. BOKF NA boosted its holdings in KLA by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. BOKF NA now owns 7,803 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,330,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 121.9% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 3,899 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,457,000 after acquiring an additional 2,142 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of KLA by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,263 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,056,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $700,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities raised their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $802.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were 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 owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $3.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $706.66. 38,053 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,059,968. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $93.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $678.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $683.85. 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 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 firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.72%.

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

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.