Waverly Advisors LLC Takes $444,000 Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 704 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Keyvantage Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,563,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its position in shares of KLA by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $38,326,000 after purchasing an additional 8,028 shares in the last quarter. Bensler LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 18,958 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $11,946,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in KLA by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 610,049 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $384,404,000 after buying an additional 59,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Down 0.5%

KLA stock traded down $3.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $773.97. 906,805 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,087,932. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $102.35 billion, a PE ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $699.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $693.61. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.26 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect 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 stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is 27.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction 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 approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on KLAC. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $799.58.

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.