Louisbourg Investments Inc. Sells 30 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Louisbourg Investments Inc. lowered its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,186 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its holdings in KLA by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 570 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in KLA by 3.8% during the first quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its holdings in KLA by 4.7% during the first quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 381 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors raised its holdings in KLA by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 431 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $892.38 on Tuesday. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $896.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $740.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $710.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $118.01 billion, a PE ratio of 37.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

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 the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The company’s revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of several research reports. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup lowered 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. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $725.00 price objective (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $795.39.

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.