Signet Financial Management LLC Buys 2,054 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Signet Financial Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 173.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of KLA by 0.8% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,733,533 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,288,651,000 after purchasing an additional 47,838 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of KLA by 6.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,159,498 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,449,135,000 after purchasing an additional 190,355 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 10.4% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,844,959 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,133,396,000 after purchasing an additional 268,104 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 22.8% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,074,884 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $759,532,000 after purchasing an additional 385,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in KLA by 3.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,598,677 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $733,249,000 after buying an additional 54,472 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of KLAC traded up $11.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $689.75. 399,925 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 951,706. The stock 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 company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $681.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $589.12. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $355.88 and a 12 month high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 107.56% and a net margin of 27.98%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.38 EPS. Equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 22.65 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 29.46%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. New Street Research started coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.42.

KLA 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.