KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC cut its holdings in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 41.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,566 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 21,703 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $20,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities upped their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $799.58.

KLA Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $16.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $808.00. 996,246 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,096,677. The business's 50 day moving average is $710.28 and its 200-day moving average is $700.32. KLA Co. has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.98, 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 quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.36.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. This is an increase 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 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% 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, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.