T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Acquires 1,975 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 53.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,690 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,975 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $3,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its position in KLA by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of KLA by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,778 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $6,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,112 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,563,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its position in shares of KLA by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 60,834 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $38,326,000 after purchasing an additional 8,028 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new position in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $1,190,000. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated 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. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $802.74.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. This trade represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $26.38 on Thursday, hitting $676.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,462,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,062,281. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $681.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $684.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. KLA Co. has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. 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 firm posted $5.26 EPS. The business's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 28.60%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.