Amalgamated Bank Purchases 450 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,532 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in KLA were worth $19,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KLAC. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock opened at $889.87 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $778.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $725.20. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $914.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40.

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

KLA announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are 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 is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KLAC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KLAC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report).

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.