KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Bought by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Cullinan Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 249.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,081 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after buying an additional 9,342 shares during the quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in KLA were worth $9,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 22.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 121,888 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $85,147,000 after purchasing an additional 22,276 shares during the period. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of KLA by 3.7% in the first quarter. Colton Groome Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,536 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,772,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter valued at about $1,741,000. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter valued at about $238,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of KLA by 4.7% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 3,996 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,791,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of KLA stock traded up $1.87 on Tuesday, reaching $829.66. The company had a trading volume of 166,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 899,562. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $759.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $681.98. The firm has a market cap of $111.71 billion, a PE ratio of 43.36, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 1.27. KLA Co. has a 52-week low of $440.15 and a 52-week high of $876.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.14.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The semiconductor company reported $5.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.94 by $0.32. KLA had a net margin of 27.19% and a return on equity of 102.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 23.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were given a $1.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $5.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. StockNews.com lowered shares of KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of KLA in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $820.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $685.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $747.40.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total value of $10,039,269.67. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other KLA news, insider Ahmad A. Khan sold 7,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $760.00, for a total transaction of $5,953,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,399,800. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 14,009 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $716.63, for a total transaction of $10,039,269.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 93,142 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,748,351.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,861 shares of company stock worth $16,795,913 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About KLA

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.