Polar Capital Holdings Plc Cuts Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc decreased its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 268,587 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 70,748 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises approximately 0.9% of Polar Capital Holdings Plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Polar Capital Holdings Plc owned approximately 0.20% of KLA worth $169,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD grew its position in KLA by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Up 0.0%

KLA stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $787.08. 451,763 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,079,024. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $690.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $689.04. The company has a market cap of $104.08 billion, a PE ratio of 33.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $799.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company 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.