Polar Capital Holdings Plc Sells 70,748 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc lowered its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 20.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 268,587 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 70,748 shares during the period. KLA makes up about 0.9% of Polar Capital Holdings Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Polar Capital Holdings Plc’s holdings in KLA were worth $169,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD increased its position in KLA by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing 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 worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock opened at $805.00 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $682.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $686.53. The company has a market capitalization of $106.45 billion, a PE ratio of 33.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week 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.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. KLA’s revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Securities upped their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.74.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value 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. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.