KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stake Raised by Syon Capital LLC

Syon Capital LLC raised its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 28.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,482 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 317.8% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 9,000 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,232,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $491,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 78,095 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $45,397,000 after acquiring an additional 11,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GLOBALT Investments LLC GA bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,254,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Raymond James raised their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $875.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on KLA in a report on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $820.00 target price on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $740.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,136 shares of company stock worth $24,016,781. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded down $5.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $824.84. 474,829 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 701,941. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market cap of $111.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.21, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.28. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $440.15 and a 52 week high of $832.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $728.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $661.29.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. KLA’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.49 EPS. Research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.