Voloridge Investment Management LLC Has $205.05 Million Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 421.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 325,411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 263,051 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises approximately 0.7% of Voloridge Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned about 0.24% of KLA worth $205,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $444,000. Whelan Financial bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $412,000. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 123.0% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 31,122 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $19,611,000 after purchasing an additional 17,168 shares in the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $1,069,000. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 98.1% in the 4th quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 99,087 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $62,437,000 after purchasing an additional 49,067 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KLAC. TD Cowen increased their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their target price on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $802.74.

KLA Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of KLA stock opened at $787.01 on Tuesday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The firm has a market cap of $104.07 billion, a PE ratio of 33.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $690.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $689.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.26 EPS. The business's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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