Zhang Financial LLC Has $3.11 Million Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Zhang Financial LLC raised its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 13.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,577 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 541 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. acquired a new position in KLA in the first quarter valued at about $211,000. Charis Legacy Partners LLC grew its stake in KLA by 10.8% in the first quarter. Charis Legacy Partners LLC now owns 2,054 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 4.7% during the first quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 708 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 10.3% during the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 224 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 4.2% during the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,552 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $790.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. TD Securities upped their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $795.39.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $872.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $723.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $704.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.