Perennial Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Perennial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,199 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $815,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth approximately $211,000. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 4.7% in the first quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 381 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 26.3% during the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 917 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the 1st quarter worth about $2,294,000. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 9.8% in the first quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 460 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock traded up $15.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $872.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,617,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,194,906. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $717.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $703.79. 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 company has a market capitalization of $115.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. 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 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. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Securities increased their target price on 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 reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $795.39.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company's 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 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 three months, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.