DGS Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 359 KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 359 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 1.9% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 22,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,261,000 after buying an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 34.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 80,289 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,382,000 after purchasing an additional 20,773 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 183.1% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,829 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 32.9% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 924 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.4% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 50,684 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $18,553,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ KLAC opened at $658.98 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $684.11 and its 200-day moving average is $591.25. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $355.88 and a 12-month high of $729.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market cap of $89.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.91 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. KLA’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.04, for a total transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were 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 owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction 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 approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.42.

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.