Syon Capital LLC Grows Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Syon Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 28.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,482 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in KLA during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 75 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLA stock traded up $33.31 on Friday, reaching $706.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,151,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 961,859. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $684.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $598.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.91. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $369.00 and a fifty-two week high of $729.15. The stock has a market cap of $95.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.31 billion. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 22.61 EPS for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. TD Cowen boosted 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. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $625.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $550.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $720.42.

Insider Activity

In other 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 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 approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other KLA news, 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 transaction of $4,947,970.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $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.