KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stake Increased by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 16.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 207,333 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,882 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $130,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD increased 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 worth $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock opened at $805.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $106.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $682.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $686.53. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.26 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. 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 payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.74.

KLA Company 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.