KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Bought by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 21.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,902 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 2,124 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $8,091,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 414 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 5,620 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,541,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in KLA by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 253 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $160,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of KLA by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantra Family Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $226,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of KLAC stock traded up $6.30 on Wednesday, reaching $782.09. 839,384 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,092,875. 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 stock has a market cap of $103.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $703.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $697.23. KLA Co. has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The firm's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 board believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued 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 yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction 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 transaction 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 business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.