Everence Capital Management Inc. Purchases 2,890 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 431.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,560 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,890 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $2,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in KLA by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 22,566 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $8,261,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in KLA by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 80,289 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,382,000 after acquiring an additional 20,773 shares during the period. Prudential PLC lifted its stake in KLA by 183.1% during the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,374 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after acquiring an additional 2,829 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 924 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its stake in KLA by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 50,684 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $18,553,000 after acquiring an additional 2,151 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $525.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $675.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $670.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $688.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,375 shares in the company, valued at $22,825,670. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of KLAC opened at $693.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.25. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $355.88 and a 1 year high of $729.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $683.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $590.78. The firm has a market cap of $93.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.34.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. KLA had a net margin of 27.98% and a return on equity of 107.56%. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 22.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 19th were given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $5.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.46%.

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.