16,175 Shares in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Purchased by Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV bought a new position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 16,175 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,996,000. KLA makes up 1.3% of Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its position in KLA by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC opened at $867.67 on Friday. 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 $114.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s 50 day moving average is $734.54 and its 200 day moving average is $708.16. 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 (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.26 earnings per share. KLA’s revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. This is a boost from KLA’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded KLA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $790.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup cut their target price on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $795.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KLA news, 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 transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,829 shares of company stock valued at $13,240,166 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.