GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 95,141.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 1,672,589 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 1.26% of KLA worth $1,138,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $142,000. BSW Wealth Partners lifted its position in KLA by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 387 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,563,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,655,000. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its position in KLA by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 419 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $799.58.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC traded down $24.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $749.27. 1,717,677 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,090,605. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $700.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $695.29. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company has a market cap of $99.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors 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 purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

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.