KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by Signet Financial Management LLC

Signet Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 173.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,236 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 2,054 shares during the period. Signet Financial Management LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in KLA in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $11.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $689.75. The company had a trading volume of 399,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 951,706. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.91. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $355.88 and a 1-year high of $729.15. The company has a market cap of $93.27 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $681.28 and a 200-day moving average of $589.12.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.38 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 22.65 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.84%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Raymond James boosted their target price on KLA from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.42.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the 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 owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 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. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.