Parallel Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 17.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,405 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $1,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in 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 last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 489 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. TD Securities upped their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $799.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value 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 $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC traded up $13.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $775.79. The company had a trading volume of 943,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,089,118. The company has a market capitalization of $102.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.62, a PEG 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $701.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $696.68. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for 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%. KLA's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.26 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.