NorthRock Partners LLC Purchases 979 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 70.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,376 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $1,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at $1,175,756,000. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in KLA by 381.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 114,444.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 342,488 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $215,809,000 after purchasing an additional 342,189 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at about $187,212,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in 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 valued at $916,926,000 after acquiring an additional 292,907 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $799.58.

KLA Stock Performance

KLA stock traded down $1.89 on Tuesday, reaching $785.13. 398,903 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,078,832. The stock has a market cap of $103.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.02, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $690.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $689.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a twelve month low of $551.33 and a twelve month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

About KLA

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.