KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by Graham Capital Management L.P.

Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 909.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,866 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,988 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in KLA were worth $5,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in KLA by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. grew its position in shares of KLA by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group boosted 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. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $802.74.

KLA Trading Up 2.3%

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $17.41 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $777.88. The stock had a trading volume of 147,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,067,299. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $679.01 and a 200 day moving average of $684.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $102.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $896.32.

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

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. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by 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.