Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 1,090 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,221 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 1,090 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $15,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in KLA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,484,468 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $8,496,833,000 after purchasing an additional 85,370 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in KLA by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,606,838 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,273,118,000 after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,046,472,000 after purchasing an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of KLA by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,685,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,061,878,000 after buying an additional 204,330 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of KLA stock traded up $32.75 on Tuesday, hitting $889.03. 1,144,548 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,126,011. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $759.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $718.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $914.83. The company has a market cap of $117.57 billion, a PE ratio of 32.32, a PEG ratio of 1.63 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, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.26 EPS. KLA's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA's payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities upped their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $815.39.

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.