KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Investments LP

Two Sigma Investments LP trimmed its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 58.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,638 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 169,846 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned approximately 0.09% of KLA worth $77,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in KLA by 300.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its position in shares of KLA by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $787.01 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $690.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $689.04. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $104.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, 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. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $802.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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