KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by LRI Investments LLC

LRI Investments LLC lowered its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 15 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $41,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in KLA by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $8,496,833,000 after acquiring an additional 85,370 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in KLA by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,273,118,000 after acquiring an additional 14,397 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,046,472,000 after buying an additional 31,608 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in KLA by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,061,878,000 after buying an additional 204,330 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on KLAC. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their price objective on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a 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, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.74.

KLA Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $795.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $105.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $681.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $685.71. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.