3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Invests $402,000 in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 591 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KLAC. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 160.0% in 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. 86.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $5.87 during trading on Monday, hitting $895.74. 786,721 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,128,216. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. KLA Corporation has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $914.83. The company has a market cap of $118.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $778.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $725.20.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during 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%. KLA's revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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 paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, 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. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $815.39.

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.