Journey Strategic Wealth LLC Has $1.40 Million Stock Position in KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Journey Strategic Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC - Free Report) by 90.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,056 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC's holdings in KLA were worth $1,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in KLA in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in KLA during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new position in KLA in the first quarter worth approximately $45,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 527.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in KLA by 270.0% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 74 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Price Performance

KLA stock traded down $2.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $902.09. The company had a trading volume of 807,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 836,322. The company has a market capitalization of $119.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.42. KLA Corporation has a 12-month low of $551.33 and a 12-month high of $945.87. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $862.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $761.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.54 and a quick ratio of 1.74.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. KLA's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a $1.90 dividend. This is an increase from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. KLA's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.63%.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 5.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KLAC. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $920.00 price target (up from $870.00) on shares of KLA in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on KLA from $868.00 to $916.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on KLA from $760.00 to $590.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $852.56.

Insider Transactions at KLA

In related news, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 78,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,803,042. This trade represents a 12.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 1,019 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $21,291,492.34. This represents a 3.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,860 shares of company stock worth $8,196,798 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

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.