Paragon Capital Management Ltd Invests $205,000 in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Paragon Capital Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Keyvantage Wealth LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth $214,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter worth $55,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in KLA by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 72,211 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $45,502,000 after purchasing an additional 659 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth $224,000. Finally, Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth $126,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $790.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $795.39.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of KLAC opened at $875.00 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $729.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $706.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.80, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually 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.