Diversified Trust Co Purchases 9,440 Shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 239.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,378 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 9,440 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co's holdings in KLA were worth $9,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 48 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new position in KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 160.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $766.46, for a total value of $781,022.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares in the company, valued at $21,291,492.34. The trade was a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC traded up $2.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $892.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 326,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,126,450. The stock's 50-day moving average is $778.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $725.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.00 billion, a PE ratio of 32.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. 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 one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $914.83.

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

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $725.00 target price (down from $875.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.