National Bank of Canada FI Boosts Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 77.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 154,100 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 67,361 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.11% of KLA worth $86,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in KLA by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of KLA by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in KLA by 4.4% during the third quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 502 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 507 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, MWA Asset Management lifted its position in KLA by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 683 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $397,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Berenberg Bank lifted their price objective on KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $722.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $14.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $696.59. The stock had a trading volume of 820,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 889,883. The company has a market cap of $93.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.33. The business's 50 day moving average price is $688.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $608.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $369.66 and a 1 year high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.49 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 23.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.