Magnetar Financial LLC Takes Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,594 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Brookstone Capital Management acquired a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 965 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 792 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $356,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in KLA by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,155 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $24.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $787.39. The stock had a trading volume of 1,047,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 842,597. The company has a market capitalization of $106.01 billion, a PE ratio of 41.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $809.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $716.85. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $440.15 and a 1 year high of $896.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on KLA from $860.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $806.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,644,493.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,905 shares of company stock valued at $16,831,966 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.