Sagace Wealth Management LLC Takes $248,000 Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Sagace Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 365 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its holdings in KLA by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on KLAC. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $795.39.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $872.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $723.77 and a 200 day moving average of $704.95. 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 market capitalization of $115.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.67, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. KLA’s revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.