KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by Fidelis Capital Partners LLC

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,333 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $572,224,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 52.8% during the third quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156,913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $530,630,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA by 22.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,074,884 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $759,532,000 after acquiring an additional 385,420 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 10.4% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,844,959 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,133,396,000 after acquiring an additional 268,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of KLA by 6,309.1% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 250,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $145,410,000 after acquiring an additional 246,244 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

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

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded down $5.89 on Friday, hitting $638.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 120,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 950,148. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $355.88 and a 52-week high of $729.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $684.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $591.62. The company has a market capitalization of $86.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $688.42.

About KLA

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.