KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP

Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP trimmed its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 957 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP’s holdings in KLA were worth $603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in KLA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,496,833,000 after buying an additional 85,370 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in KLA by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,273,118,000 after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in KLA by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,061,878,000 after acquiring an additional 204,330 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC opened at $805.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $682.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $686.53. The firm has a market cap of $106.45 billion, a PE ratio of 33.85, 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on KLAC shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $802.74.

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.