Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 18.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,336 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $1,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD grew its stake in shares of KLA by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $16.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $808.00. 996,246 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,098,125. The company has a market cap of $106.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $710.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $700.90.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $795.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.