Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 502 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,708 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 502 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned about 0.05% of KLA worth $47,387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 140 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 570 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 438 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of KLA by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its position in shares of KLA by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 381 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, 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 value of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total transaction of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Stock Down 1.4%

KLAC stock traded down $13.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $889.87. 1,175,356 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,128,467. The company has a market cap of $117.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $778.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $724.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. KLA Corporation has a 52 week low of $551.33 and a 52 week high of $914.83.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during 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%. KLA's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share 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 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 programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors 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 paid a dividend of $1.90 per share. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KLAC. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. TD Cowen boosted their price target 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $815.39.

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.