Norden Group LLC Makes New $227,000 Investment in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 391 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

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

KLA Stock Down 3.4 %

KLAC stock opened at $666.04 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $687.50 and its 200 day moving average is $604.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14. KLA Co. has a one year low of $369.66 and a one year high of $729.15. The firm has a market cap of $89.68 billion, a PE ratio of 34.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.33.

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

KLA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Monday, February 19th were paid a $1.45 dividend. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on KLAC shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of KLA from $692.00 to $698.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $750.00 price objective (up previously from $625.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on KLA from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $565.00 to $725.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $722.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,018 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Oreste Donzella sold 3,257 shares of KLA 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 owns 16,922 shares in the company, 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 insiders.

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.