Simon Quick Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 53.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,233 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 755 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in KLA by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in KLA by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 537 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC increased its holdings in KLA by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 489 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its holdings in KLA by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 570 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of KLAC traded down $7.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $867.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,832,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,113,838. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $114.74 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. 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's 50 day moving average is $734.54 and its 200 day moving average is $708.16.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The business's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated 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. Barclays cut their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $795.39.

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.