8,756 Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Purchased by Dividend Assets Capital LLC

Dividend Assets Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,756 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $5,952,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position 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 during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in KLA by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 489 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in KLA by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 537 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 570 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $15.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $872.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,648,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,107,555. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $717.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $703.79. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $896.32. 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 company has a market capitalization of $115.31 billion, a PE ratio of 36.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company earned $5.26 EPS. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities upped their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $795.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was 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 owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total value of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

About KLA

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.