Sivia Capital Partners LLC Makes New $211,000 Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 310 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 1,672,589 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 381.3% in 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 period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in 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 last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in 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 valued at $750,638,000 after acquiring an additional 300,015 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, 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 ninety days, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $15.41 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $872.00. 1,648,974 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,107,555. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.31 billion, a PE ratio of 36.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $717.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $703.79. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.26 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. TD Securities boosted their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $795.39.

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.