Fjell Capital LLC Buys 348 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fjell Capital LLC grew its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 19.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,173 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up approximately 1.5% of Fjell Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Fjell Capital LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $1,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,060 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,928,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 3,730 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 3,452 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,175,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its stake in shares of KLA by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 693 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Elm3 Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $361,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" 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 report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $799.58.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock opened at $791.89 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $707.77 and a 200-day moving average of $699.00.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase 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 stock is 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.

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