DSG Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

DSG Capital 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 1,352 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $852,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 464 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 83.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,846 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,423,000 after purchasing an additional 1,748 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth $142,000. Berkshire Bank grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 491 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 6,268 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,950,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA 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 of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. 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 that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $749.27 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average is $700.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $695.64. The company has a market cap of $99.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month 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 posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.26 earnings per share. Equities 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 share 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 reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.