Numerai GP LLC Takes $1.16 Million Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Numerai GP LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,833 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,155,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in 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 last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD grew its position 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 buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on KLAC. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.74.

KLA Stock Up 4.7%

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $795.90 on Wednesday. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $681.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $685.71. The firm has a market cap of $105.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a $1.90 dividend. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. KLA’s payout ratio is 27.63%.

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

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KLA 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.