Signaturefd LLC Grows Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Signaturefd LLC raised its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,453 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,426,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc increased its stake in KLA by 60.7% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 59,890 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $34,814,000 after purchasing an additional 22,619 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in KLA by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,700 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,151,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 3,022 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,757,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 7,299 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,243,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $633.64 on Tuesday. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $355.88 and a 1-year high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $683.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $595.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.69 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.42.

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.