Procyon Advisors LLC Acquires 1,453 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 185.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,238 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $1,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 95,141.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672,589 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $462,085,000 after buying an additional 580,967 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $215,809,000 after buying an additional 342,189 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 33.7% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 300,015 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $799.58.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $808.00 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $106.85 billion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $710.28 and a 200-day moving average of $700.32. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued 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 dividend yield of 0.94%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program 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 programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Company 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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