KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Acquired by Pines Wealth Management LLC

Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,315 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in shares of KLA by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 246 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in KLA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 489 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 537 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA 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, UBS Group lifted their price target on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $799.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166 over the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $808.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $106.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $710.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $700.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. This is an increase from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.