1,833 Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Purchased by Numerai GP LLC

Numerai GP LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,833 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $1,155,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,473 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 29,002 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $18,275,000 after buying an additional 1,619 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 477 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $301,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,190,000. Finally, Cooper Financial Group boosted its holdings in KLA by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 1,651 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,040,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Down 1.8%

NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $14.83 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $791.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,130,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,079,255. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. 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 quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $688.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $688.10.

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

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $802.74.

About KLA

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.