KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Snowden Capital Advisors LLC

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 78.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,219 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 8,232 shares during the quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $1,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 381.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $462,085,000 after buying an additional 580,967 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in KLA by 114,444.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $215,809,000 after buying an additional 342,189 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $187,212,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of KLA by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,455,161 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $916,926,000 after acquiring an additional 292,907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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 eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $799.58.

KLA Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $11.43 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $767.51. The stock had a trading volume of 681,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,082,753. 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 $101.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.28, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $693.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $690.36.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid 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 is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.