178 Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Acquired by AJOVista LLC

AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 178 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,450 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $843,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $23,059,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management grew its position in KLA by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 26,626 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $15,478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,692 shares in the last quarter. Chico Wealth RIA increased its stake in KLA by 287.0% in the 4th quarter. Chico Wealth RIA now owns 3,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after buying an additional 2,870 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 43,484 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,277,000 after buying an additional 14,251 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded up $14.54 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $696.59. The company had a trading volume of 820,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 889,883. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $369.66 and a 1-year high of $729.15. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $688.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $607.66. The stock has a market cap of $93.79 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 23.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 price target (up from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $675.00 price target on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $722.26.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.