KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by HBW Advisory Services LLC

HBW Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 48.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 428 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 398 shares during the quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 62,305 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $39,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,906 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,041 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $656,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 135,144 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $87,096,000 after acquiring an additional 10,066 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 2,823 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,060 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,928,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of KLAC traded up $9.80 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $791.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,618,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,095,578. The company's 50 day moving average price is $705.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $697.81. The stock has a market cap of $104.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. 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.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The company's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KLAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $799.58.

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.