USA Financial Formulas Increases Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

USA Financial Formulas lifted its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 484.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,998 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,314 shares during the period. KLA accounts for 0.4% of USA Financial Formulas' portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. USA Financial Formulas' holdings in KLA were worth $2,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of KLAC. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth $26,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded down $4.12 on Monday, reaching $714.15. 554,072 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 944,173. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $690.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $617.46. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $385.80 and a 12 month high of $729.15. The company has a market cap of $96.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.33.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.81%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,284 shares of company stock worth $17,260,138 over the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $820.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $727.15.

KLA Company 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.