Horizon Financial Services LLC Has $462,000 Stock Holdings in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Horizon Financial Services LLC raised its stake in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 33,900.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 680 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 678 shares during the quarter. Horizon Financial Services LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $402,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in KLA by 40.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,463 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,674,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. bought a new stake in KLA in the first quarter worth approximately $1,479,000. Keyvantage Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of KLA during the 4th quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 138,990 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $93,624,000 after purchasing an additional 3,846 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 27,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,291,492.34. This trade represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of KLA stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% 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 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

KLA Stock Performance

Shares of KLAC traded down $6.40 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $914.70. 489,375 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,132,863. 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 stock's fifty day moving average is $799.45 and its 200 day moving average is $731.20. KLA Corporation has a 1-year low of $551.33 and a 1-year high of $928.02. The stock has a market cap of $120.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42.

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, beating 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 analysts' expectations of $3.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.26 EPS. The company'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 fiscal year.

KLA declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is 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 0.83%. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on KLAC. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $830.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on KLA from $910.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on KLA from $950.00 to $900.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $818.06.

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.