Versant Capital Management Inc Boosts Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 163.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 812 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings in KLA were worth $552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its stake in shares of KLA by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 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. Insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities increased their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $799.58.

KLA Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of KLAC traded down $24.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $749.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,717,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,090,605. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $700.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $695.29. The stock has a market cap of $99.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.26 EPS. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. 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 27.63%.

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.