KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Sold by Main Management ETF Advisors LLC

Main Management ETF Advisors LLC reduced its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,136 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 192 shares during the quarter. Main Management ETF Advisors LLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $1,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 increased its position in KLA by 0.4% during the 4th 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,253,302 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,046,472,000 after buying an additional 31,608 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,175,756,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,867,606.76. The trade was a 19.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, 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. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KLA Trading Up 4.7%

KLA stock opened at $795.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $681.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $685.71. KLA Co. has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $896.32. The stock has a market cap of $105.25 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its board has initiated a share 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 repurchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be paid a $1.90 dividend. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Securities increased their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of KLA from $725.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on KLA from $700.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $802.74.

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.