Paradiem LLC Has $3.78 Million Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Paradiem LLC cut its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 19.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,501 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 1,614 shares during the period. Paradiem LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $3,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in KLA by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 594 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 42.4% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in KLA by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 45,325 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $20,789,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,040 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,770,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its holdings in KLA by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 1,905 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $874,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on KLAC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on KLA in a report on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on KLA from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $720.42.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,809,017.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,825,670. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 16,922 shares in the company, valued at $11,809,017.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Trading Up 4.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $33.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $706.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,193,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 821,545. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $369.00 and a 12 month high of $729.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $685.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $600.67. The stock has a market cap of $95.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.00, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced 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. KLA had a return on equity of 103.31% and a net margin of 27.19%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 22.61 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. KLA’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

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.