315 Shares in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Acquired by Harmony Asset Management LLC

Harmony Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 315 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its stake in KLA by 527.3% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in KLA by 270.0% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KLA Trading Down 0.4%

KLAC opened at $924.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $122.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.42. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $932.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $826.84 and a 200 day moving average of $742.83.

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

KLA announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is 27.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. The trade was a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 price target (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $840.33.

KLA Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.