Dover Advisors LLC Acquires 51 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Dover Advisors LLC increased its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,743 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. KLA makes up about 1.4% of Dover Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in KLA during the first quarter valued at $63,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,221 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $15,787,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 499 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 3,406 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,315,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,996,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $867.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market cap of $114.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $734.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $708.16. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on KLAC. Barclays lowered 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. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $795.39.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Company 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.