Tidal Investments LLC Sells 24,521 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Tidal Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 66.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,590 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 24,521 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $7,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $215,809,000 after acquiring an additional 342,189 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $187,212,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of KLA by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $916,926,000 after acquiring an additional 292,907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $787.01 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $690.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $689.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.26 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Securities lifted their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. 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, UBS Group raised their target price on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $802.74.

KLA 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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