1,105 Shares in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Purchased by Inscription Capital LLC

Inscription Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,105 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $772,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of KLA by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 695 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 54.9% during the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. increased its position in KLA by 0.4% in the first quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 4,540 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,086,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the first quarter valued at $1,831,000. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of KLA by 2.8% in the first quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 1,843 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,253,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities lifted their price objective on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 price objective (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $807.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,829 shares of company stock worth $13,240,166. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Up 0.1%

KLA stock opened at $893.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $118.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $914.83. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $744.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $712.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The company's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.26 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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