Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Sells 1,398 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH decreased its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,274 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,398 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned 0.06% of KLA worth $58,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of KLAC. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its holdings in KLA by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $795.39.

KLA Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of KLAC traded up $3.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $875.00. 1,090,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,108,693. KLA Co. has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $896.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The business has a 50-day moving average of $723.77 and a 200-day moving average of $704.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.80, 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 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 period last year, the company posted $5.26 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

KLA 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.