SageView Advisory Group LLC Makes New $360,000 Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 605 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,048,728,000. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,061,469,000 after purchasing an additional 386,810 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 43.4% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 997,778 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $580,008,000 after purchasing an additional 301,848 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 6,309.1% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 250,147 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $145,410,000 after purchasing an additional 246,244 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total value of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,136 shares of company stock valued at $24,016,781 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Stock Up 1.7 %

KLAC opened at $863.31 on Thursday. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $440.15 and a 1-year high of $876.55. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $116.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.06 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $738.79 and a 200-day moving average of $667.85.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.49 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Citigroup increased their price objective on KLA from $725.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $747.40.

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.