Portside Wealth Group LLC Invests $232,000 in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 342 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keyvantage Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,211 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $45,502,000 after buying an additional 659 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Finally, Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded down $7.33 on Friday, hitting $867.67. 1,832,159 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,116,404. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $734.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $708.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.74 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year 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.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share 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 previous year, the company earned $5.26 EPS. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a 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 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $795.39.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This 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 have sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About KLA

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.