Meritage Portfolio Management Buys 1,692 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,626 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,692 shares during the quarter. KLA comprises approximately 1.0% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in KLA were worth $15,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KLAC. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of KLA by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 39,668 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $23,059,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Chico Wealth RIA lifted its position in KLA by 287.0% during the 4th quarter. Chico Wealth RIA now owns 3,870 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 2,870 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 48.7% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 43,484 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $25,277,000 after acquiring an additional 14,251 shares during the period. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd increased its stake in shares of KLA by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One SA PTY Ltd now owns 15,620 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $9,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,715 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Stock Up 5.2 %

Shares of KLAC traded up $35.01 on Friday, reaching $707.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 565,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 954,484. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $684.51 and a 200-day moving average of $598.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.74 billion, a PE ratio of 35.94, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.34. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $369.00 and a twelve month high of $729.15.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 107.56% and a net margin of 27.98%. The business’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.49 EPS. Equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $1.45 per share. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 29.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $697.85, for a total value of $2,272,897.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,825,670. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on KLAC shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of KLA from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price target (up previously from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $720.42.

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.