Keel Point LLC Makes New $258,000 Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Keel Point LLC acquired a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 445 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of KLA by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 30,522 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $17,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $222,000. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in KLA by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $940,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Street Advisors LLC raised its stake in KLA by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 2,304 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,340,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $693.31 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $683.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $590.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.76 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 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. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $355.88 and a 1-year 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. The business 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 business’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.38 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 22.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $688.42.

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.