Charis Legacy Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 1,854 KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Charis Legacy Partners LLC purchased a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,854 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,168,000. KLA comprises approximately 2.4% of Charis Legacy Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD grew its position in KLA by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLAC. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on KLA from $665.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $748.00 to $870.00 in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $818.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was 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 owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $670.22 on Monday. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $705.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $693.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.18, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.60%.

KLA Company 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.