KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Bought by Vident Advisory LLC

Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 123.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,122 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 17,168 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $19,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KLAC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,496,833,000 after purchasing an additional 85,370 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in KLA by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,273,118,000 after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,046,472,000 after purchasing an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in KLA by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,061,878,000 after purchasing an additional 204,330 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $799.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA 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 in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $11.43 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $767.51. 681,865 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,084,006. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $693.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $690.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.50 billion, a PE ratio of 32.28, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 19th. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.