Gotham Asset Management LLC Buys 1,828 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 20.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,839 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 1,828 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $6,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in KLA by 909.8% in the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 8,866 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,587,000 after acquiring an additional 7,988 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in KLA by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 38,981 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $24,580,000 after buying an additional 5,881 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. boosted its position in KLA by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 14,473 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $9,120,000 after purchasing an additional 2,394 shares in the last quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its stake in shares of KLA by 165.5% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 4,235 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,669,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,494,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on KLAC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $802.74.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded down $3.62 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $785.65. 250,198 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,077,987. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $688.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $688.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.