Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC Sells 315 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 30.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 725 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 315 shares during the period. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of KLA by 44.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,786 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in KLA by 81.9% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 544 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the fourth quarter valued at $142,221,000. Callan Family Office LLC grew its position in KLA by 61.3% in the fourth quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 989 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in KLA by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 341 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other KLA news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm'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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KLAC. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $1,035.00 target price (up previously from $835.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Monday. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $831.11.

KLA Trading Down 1.3%

KLA stock traded down $11.96 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $912.62. The stock had a trading volume of 901,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,134,623. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.68 billion, a PE ratio of 33.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $551.33 and a 12 month high of $928.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $803.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $734.48.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.63%.

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.