Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 24.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,193 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying 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 & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,175,756,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 valued at $1,138,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672,589 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 381.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 733,328 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $462,085,000 after acquiring an additional 580,967 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 33.7% during 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 valued at $750,638,000 after acquiring an additional 300,015 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $187,212,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 price target (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $725.00 price target (down previously from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $840.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 27,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $4.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $924.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 570,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,138,335. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $826.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $742.83. The company has a market capitalization of $122.27 billion, a PE ratio of 33.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $932.17.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.08 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid 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 0.82%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership 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.