Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Acquires 2,619 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 77.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,998 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 2,619 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $4,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth $1,048,728,000. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of KLA in the first quarter worth about $627,399,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $379,678,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of KLA by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,546,308 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,061,469,000 after purchasing an additional 386,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in KLA by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 997,778 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $580,008,000 after purchasing an additional 301,848 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total value of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,211 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,644,493.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Brian Lorig sold 44 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.40, for a total transaction of $36,053.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,211 shares in the company, valued at $11,644,493.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $788.58, for a total value of $803,563.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,726,714.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,769 shares of company stock valued at $21,324,890 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on KLAC. Barclays upped their price target on KLA from $765.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $805.29.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $820.45. 963,498 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 934,951. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.27. The business's 50-day moving average is $806.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $735.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.15. KLA Co. has a 12 month low of $440.15 and a 12 month high of $896.32.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The semiconductor company reported $6.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.15 by $0.45. KLA had a return on equity of 103.50% and a net margin of 28.15%. The business had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.40 EPS. KLA's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that KLA Co. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.38%.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets 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, Display and Component Inspection.