Bailard Inc. Purchases 53 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,563 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $16,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in KLA by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 210 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.7% in the third quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 466 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.4% in the third quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 502 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 507 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the business’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 owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,809,017.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was 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. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock traded up $8.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $656.54. 872,949 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 958,146. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $684.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $597.60. KLA Co. has a one year low of $355.88 and a one year high of $729.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The semiconductor company reported $6.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.91 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. KLA’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 29.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $550.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $696.58.

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.