Blue Chip Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Blue Chip Partners LLC grew its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,051 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 1,466 shares during the period. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $9,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,159,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,449,135,000 after acquiring an additional 190,355 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,598,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $733,249,000 after purchasing an additional 54,472 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,365,784 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $626,431,000 after purchasing an additional 153,752 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of KLA by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,267,811 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $581,496,000 after buying an additional 117,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,156,913 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $530,630,000 after buying an additional 400,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $706.26 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.00, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $685.41 and its 200 day moving average is $601.50. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $369.00 and a 12 month high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.49 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders 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 0.82%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’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 value of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 target price (up previously from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $720.42.

KLA 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.