Whelan Financial Makes New Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Whelan Financial acquired a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 654 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $412,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 381.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $462,085,000 after buying an additional 580,967 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,809,000 after buying an additional 342,189 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $187,212,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in KLA by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $916,926,000 after acquiring an additional 292,907 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of KLA stock opened at $787.01 on Tuesday. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $104.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $690.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $689.04.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.26 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.