Zhang Financial LLC Has $1.76 Million Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Zhang Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 26.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,022 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 640 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its position in KLA by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 7,299 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $4,243,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Lafayette Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 19,329 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,236,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,446 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,333 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock traded down $12.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $631.52. 323,157 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 952,810. The company has a market capitalization of $85.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $684.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $591.62. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $355.88 and a twelve month high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on KLA from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.42.

Insider Transactions at KLA

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

About KLA

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.