KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Acquired by Lincoln National Corp

Lincoln National Corp boosted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,513 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Addison Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in shares of KLA by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $717.15 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $690.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $612.86. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $374.49 and a 52 week high of $729.15. The company has a market capitalization of $96.56 billion, a PE ratio of 37.57, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.49 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 23.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 30.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $722.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total transaction of $2,272,897.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

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.