Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC Invests $243,000 in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC bought a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 358 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 537 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 403 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 6,111 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,851,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Down 0.8%

KLAC traded down $7.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $867.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,832,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,116,404. The company has a market capitalization of $114.74 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $896.32. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $734.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $708.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

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

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $1.90 dividend. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $795.39.

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.