Arizona State Retirement System Purchases 632 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,243 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in KLA were worth $26,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. raised its position in shares of KLA by 270.0% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 research report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on KLA in a research report on Thursday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 target price on the stock. TD Securities upped their target price on KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $840.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total transaction of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of KLAC opened at $924.58 on Friday. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $932.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The company has a market capitalization of $122.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.42. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $826.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $742.83.

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

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding 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 typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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