First Manhattan CO. LLC. Buys 2,640 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. increased its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 165.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,235 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 2,640 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its stake in shares of KLA by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $701.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $678.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $684.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.73 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $802.74.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.