Nicholas Investment Partners LP Decreases Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Nicholas Investment Partners LP lowered its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 50.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,283 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 4,376 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Investment Partners LP's holdings in KLA were worth $2,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine investment 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 stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $802.74.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded down $3.97 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $785.31. 317,194 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,078,302. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $688.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $688.22. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The company has a market cap of $103.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

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.