KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Shares Purchased by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,923 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in KLA were worth $16,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 527.3% during the first quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 270.0% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the company'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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 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. Insiders have sold a total of 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 over the last quarter. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on KLA in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $980.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Barclays lowered their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $840.33.

KLA Stock Performance

KLAC stock traded down $3.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $933.16. The stock had a trading volume of 221,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,133,024. The stock has a market cap of $123.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $846.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $750.77. KLA Corporation has a 52-week low of $551.33 and a 52-week high of $950.50.

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

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given 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 dividend yield of 0.81%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is 27.63%.

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.