Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC Increases Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC increased its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,006 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the period. KLA accounts for 1.6% of Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $9,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in KLA by 95,141.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,138,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672,589 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in KLA by 381.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $462,085,000 after acquiring an additional 580,967 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,809,000 after acquiring an additional 342,189 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in KLA by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $750,638,000 after acquiring an additional 300,015 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $799.58.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $808.00 on Friday. 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 one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $896.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $710.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $700.32. The stock has a market cap of $106.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.