PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co Takes Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,500 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $5,356,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

KLA Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of KLA stock traded down $24.70 on Friday, reaching $749.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,717,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,092,982. The company has a market capitalization of $99.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $700.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $694.94. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.26 earnings per share. KLA's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Citigroup lowered their target price on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $799.58.

KLA Company 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.