Twinbeech Capital LP Acquires 49,067 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Twinbeech Capital LP raised its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 98.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,087 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 49,067 shares during the quarter. KLA makes up approximately 1.1% of Twinbeech Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Twinbeech Capital LP owned approximately 0.07% of KLA worth $62,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 0.6% during the 4th 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 increased its holdings in KLA by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,273,118,000 after buying an additional 14,397 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 1.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased 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 buying an additional 204,330 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Down 1.8%

KLAC opened at $791.17 on Monday. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $688.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $688.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

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 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.26 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is an increase 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 yield of 0.96%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.74.

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.