Everence Capital Management Inc. Raises Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 431.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,560 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 2,890 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,069,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position 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 worth $8,261,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position 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 worth $29,382,000 after acquiring an additional 20,773 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 183.1% in the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its position in KLA by 4.4% during 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 buying an additional 2,151 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other KLA news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC opened at $693.31 on Wednesday. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $355.88 and a 1 year high of $729.15. The company has a market cap of $93.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $683.11 and a 200-day moving average of $590.78.

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

KLA Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KLAC. 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 lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $688.42.

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.