Tema Etfs LLC Acquires New Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 867 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $546,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in KLA by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,496,833,000 after acquiring an additional 85,370 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,273,118,000 after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in KLA by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,046,472,000 after purchasing an additional 31,608 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in KLA by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,061,878,000 after buying an additional 204,330 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade 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 through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays reduced their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $799.58.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded down $11.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $778.94. 1,236,680 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,084,357. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $692.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $689.75. The company has a market capitalization of $103.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, 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.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.26 earnings per share. KLA's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.90 dividend. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is 27.63%.

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.