Graham Capital Management L.P. Boosts Stock Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 909.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,866 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,988 shares during the quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in 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 during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD increased its holdings in KLA by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Citigroup dropped their target price 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. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $802.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, 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. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $701.20 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $678.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $684.07. The stock has a market cap of $93.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.72%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA 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.