Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 16.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,859 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $5,343,000 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. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $750,638,000 after purchasing an additional 300,015 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target 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. 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 research note on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $795.39.
Get Our Latest Analysis on KLA
Insider Buying and Selling at KLA
In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
KLA Stock Up 1.8%
KLAC traded up $15.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $872.00. 1,648,974 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,107,555. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The stock's 50-day moving average is $723.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $704.95. The stock has a market cap of $115.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.67, a PEG 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during 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. The firm's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
KLA Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.
KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
About KLA
(
Free Report)
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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