Edgestream Partners L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 1,161.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,105 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 12,066 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in KLA were worth $8,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of KLA during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 527.3% during the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 69 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 270.0% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

KLA Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:KLAC traded up $3.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $937.08. 1,135,315 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,136,631. KLA Corporation has a one year low of $551.33 and a one year high of $942.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $846.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $750.77. The company has a market cap of $123.92 billion, a PE ratio of 34.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.42.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.41 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.26 earnings per share. KLA's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that KLA Corporation will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KLAC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of KLA from $690.00 to $740.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,035.00 price target (up previously from $835.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 price target (up previously from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $840.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were 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 $2,332,164. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of KLA 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.