KLCM Advisors Inc. Acquires New Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

KLCM Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 375 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in KLA by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its position in KLA by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in KLA by 4.7% during the third quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 466 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC raised its position in KLA by 4.4% during the third quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 502 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its position in KLA by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 507 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $658.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $684.11 and a 200 day moving average of $591.25. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $355.88 and a 1 year high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 107.56% and a net margin of 27.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.38 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. KLA’s payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on KLA in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $688.42.

KLA 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.