Two Sigma Advisers LP Has $121.42 Million Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Two Sigma Advisers LP lessened its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 15.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 192,700 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 35,500 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP’s holdings in KLA were worth $121,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Keyvantage Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Milestone Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,563,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $38,326,000 after buying an additional 8,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bensler LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 18,958 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,946,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Citigroup cut their price objective on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.74.

KLA Stock Down 1.8%

KLAC stock opened at $791.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $688.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $688.22. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.26 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade 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 accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, 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 owned by company insiders.

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.