PFG Investments LLC Raises Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

PFG Investments LLC boosted its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 965 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 141 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $696.87 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $657.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $566.45. KLA Co. has a one year low of $355.88 and a one year high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.74 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.46%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna downgraded shares of KLA from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $640.00 to $675.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. New Street Research initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $641.05.

About KLA

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.