Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Has $915,000 Stock Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 27.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,346 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 294 shares during the quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $915,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its stake in KLA by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. raised its stake in KLA by 270.0% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KLAC shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on KLA in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, KLA has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $852.56.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $6.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $903.84. The company had a trading volume of 290,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,166,465. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $945.87. The firm has a market cap of $119.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.84, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.42. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $857.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $758.39.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.26 earnings per share. KLA's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

KLA Company 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.