GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Makes New $15.97 Million Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 25,350 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $15,974,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its holdings in KLA by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $799.58.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock traded down $11.56 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $777.50. The stock had a trading volume of 903,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,086,706. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year 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. The stock's 50 day moving average is $697.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $693.03. The stock has a market cap of $102.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.26 earnings per share. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

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 paid a $1.90 dividend. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About KLA

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.