Duality Advisers LP Makes New $3.53 Million Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Duality Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,069 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 19.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,161 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $991,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 163.2% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,105 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $6,011,000 after buying an additional 8,125 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 40.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,129 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 5.7% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 427 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $633.64 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $683.91 and its 200-day moving average is $595.92. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $355.88 and a 12-month 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 market cap of $85.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.38 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.