TCG Advisory Services LLC Has $5.55 Million Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

TCG Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 1,975.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,547 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,087 shares during the period. TCG Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $103,000. Blue Fin Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $227,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in KLA by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,521 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $10,766,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in KLA by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,038,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 9258 Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $210,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $14.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $696.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 820,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 889,883. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $369.66 and a twelve month high of $729.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $688.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $607.66. The company has a market capitalization of $93.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 2.97 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 23.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.45 per share. 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 payout ratio is 30.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $750.00 price objective (up previously from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $722.26.

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.