Golden State Equity Partners Makes New $201,000 Investment in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Golden State Equity Partners acquired a new stake in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 295 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in KLA by 5.3% during the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 439 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC increased its position in shares of KLA by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 2,607 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,772,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Navis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,615 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,137,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC raised its stake in shares of KLA by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 8,356 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $5,680,000 after buying an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sava Infond d.o.o. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 6.1% in the first quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. now owns 1,050 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KLAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of KLA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 target price on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $815.39.

KLA Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:KLAC traded down $13.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $889.87. 1,175,356 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,129,588. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $778.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $724.65. The firm has a market cap of $117.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. KLA Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $914.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47.

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

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 issued a dividend of $1.90 per share. This is a boost from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. KLA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.63%.

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

Insider Activity at KLA

In other KLA news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,779 shares in the company, 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. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.