KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Acquired by Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 24.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,193 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,222 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $4,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in KLAC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in KLA by 95,141.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,674,347 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,138,221,000 after buying an additional 1,672,589 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in KLA by 381.3% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $462,085,000 after purchasing an additional 580,967 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in KLA by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,191,262 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $750,638,000 after purchasing an additional 300,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth $187,212,000. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,332,164. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $8.98 during trading on Thursday, reaching $932.16. 304,262 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,185,389. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $931.96. 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 firm has a market cap of $123.27 billion, a PE ratio of 33.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $817.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $739.01.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. KLA had a return on equity of 112.97% and a net margin of 31.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. 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. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on KLAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $920.00 target price (up from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on KLA from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $840.33.

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.