Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Purchases New Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,110 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $700,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in KLA by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Hutchens & Kramer Investment Management Group LLC now owns 411 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its position in KLA by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $155,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in KLA by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on KLAC. TD Securities upped their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.74.

KLA Trading Up 1.1 %

KLAC opened at $702.33 on Friday. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $896.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.33 billion, a PE ratio of 29.53, a PEG 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $678.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $683.85.

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. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. KLA’s revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.72%.

KLA declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.