KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. grew its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,473 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,394 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $9,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Keyvantage Wealth LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $214,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in KLA by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $6,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares during the period. Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,563,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its stake in shares of KLA by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $38,326,000 after buying an additional 8,028 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock traded up $35.43 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $795.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,804,602 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,075,463. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $679.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $684.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $105.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on KLAC. TD Cowen increased their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $802.74.

KLA Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of 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 and Component Inspection.