KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Bought by Zhang Financial LLC

Zhang Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,577 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $3,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 160.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $51,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $3.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $875.00. 1,090,567 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,108,693. 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 price is $723.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $704.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.80, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The business 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $795.39.

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.