KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC decreased its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,450,823 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 256,133 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 1.09% of KLA worth $914,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Keyvantage Wealth LLC bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $214,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,112 shares in the last quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at $1,563,000. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its holdings in KLA by 15.2% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on KLA from $759.00 to $864.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of KLA from $620.00 to $655.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $802.74.

KLA Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $701.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $678.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $684.20. 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 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. KLA had a return on equity of 108.60% and a net margin of 29.58%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a positive change from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

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.