Whipplewood Advisors LLC Increases Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 538.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 166 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 140 shares during the quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $113,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD grew its stake in shares of KLA by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $775.79 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $703.36 and a 200-day moving average of $697.23. The company has a market capitalization of $102.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.62, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 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.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KLAC shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $799.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.