584 Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Acquired by PharVision Advisers LLC

PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 584 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 381.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $750,638,000 after purchasing an additional 300,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth $187,212,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Securities increased their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. 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 research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $799.58.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

KLA Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $790.29 on Wednesday. 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 $104.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $692.36 and a 200 day moving average of $689.75. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.