Blue Fin Capital Inc. Purchases New Stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Blue Fin Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 390 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in KLA by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,521 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $10,766,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in KLA by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 1,294.7% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,046 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $608,000 after buying an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $673,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at KLA

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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business’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 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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 price objective (up previously from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $722.26.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $14.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $696.59. 820,130 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 889,883. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $687.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $605.39. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $369.66 and a 52 week high of $729.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.79 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.33.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.38%.

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.