Whelan Financial Makes New $412,000 Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Whelan Financial acquired a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 654 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $412,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Keyvantage Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,563,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its holdings in KLA by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $38,326,000 after purchasing an additional 8,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bensler LLC increased its stake in KLA by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 18,958 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $11,946,000 after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $787.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The business's 50 day moving average is $690.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $689.04. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.26 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock 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 report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $802.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This 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 company insiders.

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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