Simmons Bank Raises Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Simmons Bank lifted its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 29.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,905 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,348 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Addison Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 163.9% during the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 95 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on KLA from $605.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $722.26.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC stock traded down $4.00 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $714.38. 782,703 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 955,340. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.14 and a quick ratio of 1.46. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $374.49 and a 1 year high of $729.15. The company has a market cap of $96.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $689.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $612.12.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 102.37% and a net margin of 27.19%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 23.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA 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.