302 Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Acquired by Paragon Capital Management Ltd

Paragon Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Verity & Verity LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 914 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. boosted its stake in KLA by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 3,730 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,535,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its stake in KLA by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 832 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Kelly Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Sagace Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the 1st quarter worth $248,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $7.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $867.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,832,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,113,834. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $729.17 and a 200 day moving average of $706.53. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

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, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.26 earnings per share. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. 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 research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $795.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166 over the last three months. Company 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.