Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 13,000 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186,618 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 13,000 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of KLA worth $126,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in KLA by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 772 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $142,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in KLA by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,880 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,444,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its stake in shares of KLA by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 696 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in KLA by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,153,043 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $726,555,000 after purchasing an additional 64,238 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $9.48 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $902.94. 864,669 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,125,806. The company's 50 day moving average price is $768.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $720.69. KLA Corporation has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $914.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.40. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is 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 represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is 27.63%.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on KLAC. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on KLA from $870.00 to $868.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company 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 objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.