Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,824 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 386 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $2,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD increased its position in shares of KLA by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC traded up $13.35 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $775.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 943,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,089,118. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $701.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $696.68. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month 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 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 the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $799.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.