Aviance Capital Partners LLC Sells 735 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 23.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,427 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 735 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $1,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the first quarter valued at approximately $402,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in KLA by 40.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,674,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. bought a new position in KLA in the first quarter valued at about $1,479,000. Keyvantage Wealth LLC bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in KLA by 2.8% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 138,990 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $93,624,000 after acquiring an additional 3,846 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of KLA stock traded down $6.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $914.70. The stock had a trading volume of 489,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,135,561. The company has a market capitalization of $120.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $803.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $733.70. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $928.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

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

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

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 was Monday, May 19th. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. KLA's payout ratio is 27.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company'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 value of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 in the last three months. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on KLAC shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $818.06.

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.