Bailard Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Bailard Inc. lowered its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,601 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,561 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $16,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in KLA by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. IFC Advisors LLC raised its stake in KLA by 4.6% during the first quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 342 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Trust Investment Advisors raised its stake in KLA by 1.3% during the first quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 1,188 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in KLA by 3.8% during the first quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in KLA by 3.3% during the first quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 target price (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $840.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were 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 $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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 0.3%

KLAC stock opened at $933.49 on Thursday. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $942.34. 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 cap of $123.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.93, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50 day moving average of $841.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $748.68.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released its 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. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued 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 0.81%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

KLA 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.

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